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MEMORIAL 



COLONEL JOHN A. BROSS, 



TWENTY-NINTH U. S. COLORED TROOPS, 



WHO FELL IN LEADING 



THE ASSAULT ON PETERSBURGH, 



JULY 30, 1864. 



TOaXTHEB WITH 



A SERMON BY HIS PASTOR, REV. ARTHUR SWAZEY. 



^..^'iS^ i 



B7 A FRIEND. 




CHICAGO : 

TRIBUNE BOOK AND JOB OFFICE. 

1865. 



G 



MEMORIAL. 



When good men pass away from tlie world, it is often 
fitting, both for tribute and example, to commemorate their 
virtues, and to perpetuate the record of their lives. It is espe- ^ 
cially demanded, when so man}^ men, turning resolutely from 
the tenderest relations of life, are giving themselves to their 
country, that such as have become conspicuous, by self-devotion 
and singleness of aim and effort, and to whom the service has 
been a literal laying down of life, shall be rescued from that 
dumb forgetfulness which so soon overtakes the dead. Their 
history and patriotic devotion should be held in lasting remem- 
brance. 

The subject of this brief memorial, is not alone in giving his 
life to his country ; but his is high on the roll of heroic names, 
who, in this day of peril, have made a literal sacrifice of father 
and mother, wife and child, house and lands, yes, and of his own 
life; that the nation might live, and that posterity might enjoy 
freedom and safety. Such men must and will have appreciation 
and honor, as much wider than their owm immediate circle of 
friends, as their virtues and sacrifices are known. For this do 
we write a record of his deeds. 

John Armstkong Bross, son of Deacon Moses Bross, (now 
of Morris, Illinois,) was born February 21st, 1826, in the little 
town of Milford, Pike county, Pennsylvania. He was the fifth 
son in a family of nine sons and three daughters. He received 
a thorough academical education under the pupilage of his 
elder brother, William, at Chester Academy, Orange county, 



MEMORIAL. 



New York. Entertaining plans for a collegiate course, he had 
fitted himself for that purpose ; but circumstances prevented 
the prosecution of his designs. 

Making choice of the profession of the law, he commenced 
the study of that science in Goshen, New York. Eemoving to 
Chicago, in December, 1848, he entered the office of Hon. Grant 
Goodrich, with whom he remained until the completion of his 
studies. During the Pierce administration, he served as assist- 
ant United States Marshal, and held the office of United States 
Commissioner, until the time of his death. He executed the 
duties of these Federal offices with concientious fidelity and 
ability ; acquitting himself in each case, to the entire satisfaction 
of all concerned in the discharge of the respective trusts. After 
concluding his duties as Assistant United States Marshal, he 
devoted himself to his profession, particularly to the admiralty 
practice, at once entering upon a successful career. 

June oth, 1856, he was married to Miss Belle A. Mason, 
daughter of Hon. Nelson Mason, of Sterling, Whitesides county, 
Illinois. Their eldest child, a daughter, lovely and precocious, 
in her short life of two and a half years, had become peculiarly 
dear to the heart of her father. The wife, and remaining 
child, a son of four years, survive to bear the loss of husband and 
father. The sweet, unconscious j^rattler, deprived of the coun- 
sels of a tender parent, inherits a rich legacy in that parent's 
bright example, and untarnished fame. Eight years of married 
life brought much of joy to one so happily constituted to render 
his home cliarminaf, both to himself and those who shared it. His 
nature was affectionate, his judgment cool and clear, and his 
temper disciplined and even. Endowed, as he was, with a keen 
relish for simple social pleasures, he was attached to his home 
in a remarkable degree. Therefore it was no ordinai-y sacrifice 
he made, when he left it in obedience to the demands of his 
country. 

That this proved his greatest trial, is revealed in almost every 
letter written during his absence. His decision in respect to 



MEMOEIAL. 



entering the army, was no enthusiastic impulse, but the action 
of his judgment as well; which is shown by the fact that he 
did not join the first volunteers, deeming his family ties too 
dear to be severed, while men with less to bind them' to their 
homes were pflPered in greater numbers than Government would 
accept. When, however, the progress of events made it neces- 
sary again to fill up the armies, the enthusiasm of multitudes 
had cooled, and exertion became necessary to secure recruits, 
he decided that duty called him to the field. Leaving the 
position he had attained in his profession, and the home so 
fondly dear, he devoted himself thenceforth to his country. 
During the summer of 1862, he raised two companies; one of 
which entered the 7oth Illinois Volunteers. Of the other he 
was made Captain, and it became Company A, of the 88th Illi- 
nois. The feelings with which he entered the service, are 
alluded to in some of his letters, written from camp, after 
having become accustomed to his new position. Under date of 
June 4th, 1863, to his wife, he says : 

" Tou know I have decided opinions ui:)on the duty that every able bodied 
young man owes his country ; and often on the march, when I have been tired, 
wet and liungry, and no dry place to rest my weary limbs, I have been cheered 
by the thought that in doing, bearing and suffering all this, I was discharging 
that debt and duty. How glad I shall be when, in accordance with ray own 
sense of honor, I may return to the dear domestic circle, the Mecca of my 
affections. ' ' 

Soon after the battle of Murfreesboro, he writes : 

"Officers and men are continually dropping out. from various reasons. 
Many, I doubt not, enter the army thoughtlessly, little dreaming what the actu- 
alities of war really are, and hardships soon cool their enthusiasm. I fully 
appreciate the kindness of dear friends who desire to see me safe from harm, 
but for that cause I have no heart to leave my position. I counted the cost at the 
beginning; 1 know its dangers, and possible sacrifice; I am one of those who 
thoroughly believe that blood must be shed to bring this controversy to a close. 
We are often heart-sick to witness the indiflcrcnce of men and women at home, 
but it cheers me to feel how thoroughly t/om understand the motives which place 
me here. I do not know whether all can reconcile my position with the absorb- 



6 MEMORIAL. 



ing love of Lome wliich fills my soul. But it is that very love which urges me 
forward, — that our boy may enjoy all^ the privileges of our noble, God-given 
repul)lic. No other object could tempt mo from a home so full of true enjoy- 
ment. You know I would willingly carry a musket, or be commanded by 
almost any one, if thereby I could do aught for my country. Yesterday, on 
being introduced to General Negley — ' Ah,' said he, ' I saw you in the Cedars.^ 
'Yes, General, you did;' and the pressure of hands told more forcibly than 
could words, how our thoughts went back to that battle-field. The regiment 
has just been made hapjiy by the receipt of packages from home. Though 
nothing is necessary to the vivid mental impression which will embody you in 
actual presence' almost, yet there is something in the tangible evidence of love 
and remembrance from home. Reading the Psalms in course, brought the 
Thirty-Sixth and Thirty-Seventh for to-day, and I could not help feeling that with 
such friends, and such precious promises to sustain me, I ought to be content 
anywhere." 

After a year's further experience, lie alludes to the same 
theme ; and gives evidence that his convictions of duty had not 
only led him into the contest, but had been strong enough to 
enable him to endure the privations and exposures of the ser- 
vice. Writing from Virginia, June 5th, 1864, he says : 

•' The fighting has been desperate since the first of June ; but wc have been 
uniformly successful. It has been accomplished, however, at terrible cost of 
human life, and my heart has ached for the poor wounded soldiers. It is ao 
different to come here and witness the results of a hard- fought battle. I have 
not felt tlie same entliusiastic tension of the mind, as on the field. Yet I also 
feel, that in all history, there is no such example as is now shown by our people 
in their lavish expenditure for the care of the wounded. I am glad I have been 
here to witness it ; and more than ever, am I proud that I am one of the grand 
array of the Union. I pray Heaven to grant me life and liealth to sec tlie end 
of this war, that again I may enjoy the sweet influences of home in peaceful 
times : but whatever be mj fate, I know I can give to my child this'une tiling^ 
' His father fought for the Union and tlie old Hag. ' ' ' 

In taking command of his company, he had, like all volun- 
teers, everything to learn. And probably the hardest task he 
found upon his hands at first, was that stern enforcement of 
disci])line, which is the first necessity of military service. So 
different are the requirements of war from the conditions of 
peace, that no man can pass from the one to the other without 



MEMORIAL 



feeling, at first, more or less of a shock to his sensibilities ; and 
in a place of trust, he must be liable to many mistakes. But 
Colonel Bross entered upon the service, with the determination 
to discharge his duties faithfully. And he never, till the last, 
ceased his endeavors to perfect himself in his profession. By 
a study of the best models, he made steady progress in the art 
of command. It was probably to his thorough knowledge, 
combined with his strength of character, that he owed the 
perfect control he exercised over officers and men. 

His regiment, the 88th Illinois, left Chicago, on the 4th of 
September, 1862, and went at once into active service, in Ken- 
tucky, first under Buell, and afterwards under Kosecrans. Its 
first battle was at Perrysville, Kentucky, but a short time after 
its entrance upon duty. The action is sometimes called that 
of Chaplin Hills. The regiment was under fire but a short 
time, yet it lost forty men. His conduct in this engagement, 
fixed him as a man of true courage ; one upon whom reliance 
could be placed, in an emergency ; and those who have had 
experience, know, that the first battle tries the man, and shows 
upon whom dependence may be placed in further scenes of 
danger. 

Not long afterwards, General Buell was relieved of his com- 
mand, and General Rosecrans appointed in his place. He 
entered upon his duties with great vigor, and pushed his enemy 
out of Kentucky into Tennessee. His first considerable engage- 
ment was that near Murfreesboro, at Stone River, where he 
met the enemy about the last of December. The main action 
was preceded by skirmishing of several days duration ; but on 
the 31st of December, tlie right wing of Rosecrans' army was 
attacked at daybreak, and before noon, was forced back some 
four miles, and considerably crippled. The 88th regiment was 
posted near the left in the right wing, and held its ground 
firmly through the whole action ; though it retreated under 
orders, that it might keep its position in the line. In the early 
part of the fight, it was attacked by an entire brigade, which 



8 MEMORIAL. 



it held in check and repulsed. It thus indicated the quality of 
its material, and the efficiency it had attained. Captain Bross 
acted his part in this battle, with perfect coolness, and his conduct 
was warmly approved by superior officers. The battle termin- 
ated only upon the second of January. On the first, there was 
but little fighting ; the day being given to repairing losses, and 
the burial of the dead. On the second, the battle was upon the 
left wing, and the 88th regiment was not actively engaged. 
After this the enemy retreated. Captain Bross was on picket 
duty that night, and first brought word that the enemy were 
moving. On the next day the foe was gone. 

A long campaign of peculiar hardships, was brought to a 
close by the battle of Chickamauga, which occurred, September 
19th and 20th, 1863. Here again, the regiment saw hard fight- 
ing, and Captain Bross bore himself with conspicuous gallantry ; 
extricating his company from a dangerous position on the front 
picket line, and as before, escaped all bodily harm, though 
death was abroad in all the air. 

A beautiful instance of how God was " in all his thoughts," 
as well of his perfect composure in time of danger, is found in 
several dates of reading, written in his pocket edition of the 
Psalms, which he always carried with him ; especially in these 
words upon the margin of the 91st Psalm, " Read at the l^attle 
of Chickamauga, during the heavy firing on our left, and before 
the action commenced in our front." Sincerely could he feel, 
" I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress ; ray 
God ; in Him will I trust." 

HIS CONNECTION WITH THK 29tii U. S. COLORED TROOPS. 

When the policy of arming the blacks had been fully entered 
upon, and proved, by several trials, to be successful, it was 
resolved by the authorities, to recruit such a regiment in 
the State of Illinois. The endeavor was beset with many 
difficulties. Our State laws, })assed by a so-called democratic 
Legislature, forbade the introduction and residence of that class 



MEJtORIAL. 9 



of population in the State ; and low politicians were ready enougli 
to put the law in force, were there not also a strong public 
sentiment against it. The sentiment of humanity was so much 
stronger than the law, as to allow the blacks a being in the 
State ; at least in most of the northern parts of it ; yet the 
prejudice against them was never slow to exhibit itself whenever 
a favorable^occasion presented. To undertake the recruiting of 
a colored regiment in Illinois, though favored and ordered by 
Governor Yates, was a work requiring no small amount of 
courage, patience, and self-sacrifice. 

To find officers willing to accept such service, was easier than 
to find those suitable for the position. Men were not wanted 
whose object alone was promotion, or increased pay ; nor indeed 
who were actuated by any merely selfish aim. It required the 
very best of capacity for command, and the most entire unself- 
ishness of object. Black soldiers, as a class, have more to learn 
than white troops. They need a patient, parental discipline, as 
well as strict military authority : and their efficiency, as soldiers, 
of necessity, depends more exclusively upon the capacity and 
humanity of their officers. 

Looking alone to his earlier antecedents, Colonel Bross would 
not have been supposed likely to accept such a command. - He 
was educated in the democratic faith, and held his political 
principles with the conscientious tenacity which characterized 
all his views. His mental tendencies were conservative; and 
he yielded but slowly to doctrines antagonistic to his long 
established convictions. He had been taught to regard ever}-- 
thing which savored of what men were accuston^ed to call " aboli- 
tionism," with distrust; and it was only as the measures which 
contemplated a change in the status of the black population, 
underwent the deliberate scrutiny of his judgment, that he 
yielded to them. To become the commander of such a regi- 
ment, involved a change in his views and feelings, from those 
of his earlier years, than which nothing could more forcibly 
illustrate the change in the times. Yet for this service hu was 



10 M E BI O RI A L . 



selected and detailed, and commenced recruiting in November, 
1863. He established bis bead quarters at Quincy, in order to 
avail bimself of tbe exodus of tbe black population passing 
from Missouri into Illinois, at that point. 

Owing to the late day at which the raising of the regiment 
was undertaken, many of the colored men of Illinois had 
already left, to join the service in other States. The whole 
number of such, at that time, w^as known to be about seven 
hundred. Most of two companies in the celebrated 54:th Mas- 
sachusetts, had gone from Illinois, long before their own State 
offered them the privilege of enlistment. 

Colonel Bross, as Captain of Company A, had gained a repu- 
tation for courage and energy, which promised rapid promotion 
in the 88th regiment ; and also naturally pointed him out as the 
suitable officer for the new command. He entered upon the 
work of recruiting and drilling his men with all his accustomed 
industry. From the first, he decided that his treatment of his 
troops should be such as became them as men ; and the result 
was, that he soon established himself fully in their confidence 
and affections. The undertaking in his hands was at once a 
success, so far as the proficiency of the troops in their ordinary 
duties v/as concerned. The filling up of the regiment, owing 
to causes alluded to, was not rapid. Having raised six compa- 
nies, he was commissioned as Lieut. Colonel, April 7th, 1864. 
Hewasorderdtojoin the Nintli Army Corps, then moving from 
Annapolis to the field. He passed through Chicago, with his 
regiment, on the 27th of Ma}^, 1864. His troops were provided 
with refresliments at the "Soldiers' Rest," and a number of 
friends prcs<3nted the Colonel with a fine horse and equipments, 
as a token of their high appreciation of his steadfast devotion 
to the cause of Id^erty. The presentation address was made by 
Colonel K. A. Eastman, and was briefly replied to by the recipi- 
ent of tiie gift. His response being entirely extempore, was 
not preserved, but a sentence or two is remembered by those 
who lieard it. " When 1 lead these men into battle, we shall 



MEMORIAL. 11 



remember Fort Pillo\v, and sliall not ask for quarter. I leave 
a home and friends as dear as can be found on earth ; but if it 
is the will of Providence that I do not return, I ask no nobler 
epitaph, than that I fell for my country, at the head of this 
black and blue regiment." 

The adieus were quickly said, and the troops were on their 
way ; and Colonel Bross passed from the sight of his friends 
forever. It was the fear, if not the conviction, of many of 
them at that time, that he would never return. The perils of 
officers of his rank, in an active campaign, are always great ; 
but in the service he had undertaken, they were felt to be largely 
increased. The cruel treatment of colored troops, and their 
officers, by the rebels, so far as their power went to reach them, 
was well known ; and the massacre of Fort Pillow had recently 
occurred, to give intensity to the danger that adhered to this 
service. Of all this, no one was better aware than Colonel 
Bross himself But his convictions of the rightfulness of aiTn- 
ing the blacks, were clear; his faith in their efficiency, as 
soldiers, was entire ; he had no doubt of his own dut}'-, and he 
went forward to the sacrifice, without a murmur or regret. 

His pastor tells us, that in a conversation with him, as lie was 
about to leave for Virginia, on reminding him that his connec- 
tion with colored troops would exjoose him to peculiar dangers., 
a tear came into his eye, w^hile he said, firmly: " Jf need 5e, / 
atn willmg to be offered.''^ 

" There is nothing," as he was accustomed to say, "better 
expresses my idea of a soldier's duty, than Tennyson's descrip- 
tion of the charge of the Light Brigade, especially the follow- 
ing stanza : 

' Forward the Li<^ht Brigade ! 

No man was tlierc dismayed, 

Not though the soldiers knew 

Some one had blundered — 

Their' s not to make reply ; 

Their's not to reason why ; 

T heir's but to do and die ; 

Into the valley of death 

Rode the six hundred.' " 



12 MEMORIAL. 



Tins lie would repeat witli such eraj^hasis as often gave a 
pang to the hearts of lovmg friends, who remembered the dan- 
gers to which he would so soon be exposed, and now taken in 
connection with the manner in which he was sacrificed, seems 
almost prophetic. It clearly showed the direction of his 
thouo-hts, and what would be his course in similar circumstances.' 

The Ninth Army Corps had left Annapolis, before the 29th 
could arrive, and an order was received, directing them to pro- 
ceed to Alexandria. General Casey was in command at Wash- 
ington, and had issued an order for the regiment to report at 
his head quarters, near Long Bridge. For some reason, the 
order failed to reach Colonel Bross, and he marched directly 
past General Casey' s office, through to Alexandria, and en- 
camped, in ignorance of the General's directions. An order was 
thereupon sent to him direct, to report immediately at head 
quarters. He was received with much sternness by General 
Casey. " Have you seen service before, sir." " I have, sir." 
" How came you to disobey that,^^ said General Casey, one of 
his staft' at the same time presenting the order. " Are you 
accustomed to obey orders?" Said Colonel Bross, with em- 
phasis, "General Casey, I obey orders with my life; your order 
never reached me." The mistake was, of course, discovered, 
and explanations were soon made. His air of resolute determ- 
ination impressed the old General, and the Colonel was there- 
upon ]>laced in command of the colored brigade, then at Camp 
Casey, near Washington. This position he held until after 
the battle of Spottsylvania, when, with his brigade, he was 
ordered forward to White House, where he remained till an 
opportunity offered to go to the front. At this time, the troops 
were rapidly attaining perfection in drill, and their discipline 
was every way satisfactory. 

That his expectations concerning the rapid proficiency such 
troops might make, were realized, we may learn from his letters. 
One written when in commimdof the brigade occupying Camp 
Casey, Va., says: 



MEMORIAL. 13 



" My men are improving rapidly in all their duties. Captain Aiken is all I 
can desire in his conduct as commanding officer of the regiment. All the other 
ofBcers seem to devote themselves to drill and discipline of their respective 
companies, while the men take pride in Inaking all possible progress. It is 
with real pleasure I mount ' Dick ' for battallion drill. The evolutions are per- 
formed with animation, and without noise and swearing, which certainly 
renders it much more agreeable to me." 

Again, June 8tli, near Old Churcli Tavern, lie writes : 

"My men keep up remarkably well ; having become thoroughly conversant 
with the best method of 'getting on,' in taking care of themselves. So far 
from being injured by bad weather, their spirits seem to rise in proportion to 
the disagreeable state of the elements. Yesterday, we had a genuine alarm, 
caused by a dash of rebel cavalry upon our pickets in front. They captured 
a couple of dozen of our men, and killed one Captain. We were building 
breast-works at the time, and as soon as the alarm was given, the men ' fell 
in,' with great spirit. The musRetry firing was quite brisk for a time, and we 
expected our cavalry to fall back on us, but it all became quiet without even a 
sight of the rebels. My men behaved admirably, and I was pleased that they 
showed uo desire to slink or shirk, but came into line on the double quick. 
Our camp is in a dense growth of yellow pine, though we have an open field 
front. We had no breast- works as I said, yet the men took position as calmly 
as if in a fort. I went to the front of the regiment, where I could liave a good 
look, and quietly walked along the lines to see that all was right. ' Colonel, 
we don't want you out dar,^ broke through several stockades of ivory. After 
being in line about an hour, we stacked arms and returned to labor on the 
breast-works. My men handle the ax and spade in such manner as to gain 
many compliments on the neatness with which thej' finish their work." 

General Grant had been figliting his way toward Richmond, 
and had succeeded in placing himself before Petersburgh, early 
in June. Thereupon an order was addressed to Colonel Bross, 
commanding the brigade, to detach one regiment to guard a 
wagon train to the front. His eagerness to be where work was 
to be done, led him to select his own, the 29th, and leave the 
commatid of the l^rigade. He reached the main arm}', and 
commenced work in the trenches, before Petersburgh, on the 19th 
of June : where he continued, to the fatal day which ended his 
life. 



14 MEMORIAL. 



In tlie actual and exhausting labor of the campaign, he felt 
the necessity of filling up his regiment, so that it might be fully 
officered, and thus the better support his own endeavors. His 
wish had been to secure its maximum number from the free 
blacks, as he could thus obtain a more intelligent class of men 
than by accepting companies of contrabands from the Govern- 
ment, although these were proffered, and with his regiment at 
maximum, a Colonel's commission awaited him. As recruiting 
among the free blacks went on slowly, he had finally decided to 
accept the companies tendered by the Government, and being 
unwilling to sjjare his officers for recruiting, had applied for 
them. The order granting them, had been issued, and came 
just after his deatli. 

Through the six weeks, in which the regiment was in the 
trenches, the w^eather was hot, and the work, of course, hard ; 
but there was no complaint, and the service was cheerfully and 
faithfully rendered. 

During the month of July, intimations were frequent, that 
some decisive demonstration on the part of our army was 
impending ; and toward the end of the month, the information 
had been circulated, that a mine w^as in preparation, which 
would secure to us important advantages. The army was 
therefore prepared for the explosion, but not for the disastrous 
results that followed. On Saturday morning, July SO, 1864, at 
forty minutes past four o'clock, the mine beneath the rebel fort 
was exploded ; and at five o'clock and thirty minutes, a charge 
was made, and for a while, seemed to promise well. The line, 
for a short distance on each side of the mine, is said to have 
been brilliantly carried. The second line was gained and held 
for a time. The colored division, under General Ferrero, includ- 
ing seven colored regiments, was then ordered forward. The 
fort had been seized, and the order to the bhick troops was, to 
take the interior line beyond. They had been ordered to take 
the caps from their muskets and rely on the bayonet. It soon 
became evident the work claimed to have been done by Ledlie's 



MEMORIAL. 15 



division, was not thoroughly accomplished. The enemy's lines 
had not been sufficiently cleared, and such had been the delay, 
that the rebels had rallied in full force, and were prepared now 
to dispute, successfully, any further advance of our troops. 
But they did advance, in face of a fire in front ; and in addition, 
received an enfilading fire upon each flank, and also in the rear, 
from portions of the enemy's first line, which had not been 
taken. They advanced towards Cemetery Hill, which was the 
key to the entire rebel position. Cemetery Hill commands 
Petersburgh itself, and was, therefore, the objective point of the 
assault ; and without attaining it, the attack, as a v.diole, must 
fe,il. It would seem, therefore, that such a careful disposition 
of the forces should have been made, as would render the 
attempt a c&rtain success. On the contrary, the first assault was 
so executed, that no subsecjuent bravery could prevent a total 
failure ; and no failure of the war, of the same dimensions, has 
been more disastrous. Not that in a strictly military sense, the 
loss was so great, though it cost us four thousand of our bravest 
and best men : the military situation was the same after the 
attempt as before. In addition to the loss of life, the moral 
effect was intensely calamitous. It spread a gloom over all the 
land- It was widely felt, as a result, that we were making no 
progress in the war, and were likely to make none. All the 
friends of those who died in the undertaking, felt that their lives 
had been sacrificed to the most stupid and criminal blundering. 
If a soldier fails in a successful battle, his name is imperishably 
linked with whatever of lustre it sheds about it. History, 
poetry, and oratory dwell upon it. But to fall in a fiiilure, is 
to go down in comparative darkness, and history refuses to 
linger upon the theme. 

It is not be settled here, as to whose was the blame of the 
failure in the assault of that 30th of July. But it is certain it 
was not that of the men who were there wantonly slaughtered, 
nor of the officers who fell with them. The criminality lies in 
a higher stratum, and is a question a court of inquiry alone can 



16 MEMORIAL 



settle. Such a court was ordered, and commenced its labors — 
perhaps concluded them, but no result has ever transpired ; and 
if it had, would most likely fail to give much more of certainty 
to the direction of public censure, than exists at present. 

We are able to trace, by the aid of several witnesses, the indi- 
vidual course of Colonel Bross, from the incipiency of the 
undertaking, to his death. On the evening of the 29th of July — 
Friday, his regiment was lying in the rifle pits, about four 
miles to the left of Petersburg. About nine o'clock p. m., the 
order came to march to the front of the fort to be exploded on 
the next morning. The order was at once obeyed, and by 
eleven o'clock, the regiment was in the position designated. 
It lay all night upon its arms, and at three o'clock in the morn- 
ing, was roused for breakfast, and at four, formed in column. 
As this was the first desperate work undertaken by these troops, 
there was, perhaps, little of sleep on that night, for officers or 
men. One who saw Colonel Bross, at eleven o'clock, found him 
walking back and forth before his tent, seeming somewhat 
anxious and agitated ; but he at once controled himself, and 
joined cheerfully in conversation, talking over the comi^ig 
struggle. Three of the officers had not yet received their com- 
missions. As they could not thus claim the privileges of 
prisoners of war, they could be excused from going into battle 
if they chose. But from their love to the Colonel, they refused 
to avail themselves of the privilege. Singularly, they were the 
only officers in the regiment who escaped severe wounds, in 
the assault. 

On the morning of the 30th, as the troops were drawn up in 
column, shortly after daylight, the mine was exploded, and the 
war of artillery began. Colonel Bross was at the head of his 
regiment, and Lieutenant Chapman states, that he saw and 
conversed a moment with him, and that he was perfectly calm. 
As the regiment was ordered to advance, it crossed our own 
rifle pits, and then the fort that was blown up. Here it was 
said that some three hundred of the enemy were buried alive. 



MEMORIAL. 1*7 



The place was covered also with our own men, so that their 
bodies had to be passed over to get to the field beyond, over 
which the black brigade he led, was to charge on the second 
line. Here the men were cut down with canister, right and 
left. His officers saw their Colonel seize the colors, (five 
color bearers having previously fallen,) and rushing forward, 
heard him say, "Forward, my brave boys." 

It is the testimony of Captain McCormick, that the regiment 
advanced in the beginning, through a narrow strip of timber, 
on reaching which, they received the first fire of the enemy. 
Our first line of earthworks M^as just beyond, and then an open 
plain, across which the troops charged to the demolished fort 
Here they received a severe cross and enfilading fire, in which 
Captain Flint was killed. The troops reached the ditch in front 
of the rebel lines, and distant about a hundred yards, where 
they were concealed a short time, and then charged across the 
space. Upon nearing this second line of works, they were met 
by an overwhelming force of the enemy, against which it was 
impossible for them to make headway. Colonel Bross had 
advanced to the parajDct, and planted his colors upon it. But 
seeing how matters stood, gave the order to retreat, and just 
then he was struck by a minie bullet, in the left side of the 
head, and fell dead, uttering, as one says, in falling, the words, 
" 0, Lord." The regiment lost one hundred and fifty, in killed, 
one hundred wounded, and from seventy to eightj^ prisoners. 
It went into the battle with four hundred and fifty men, of 
whom but one hundred and twenty-eight came out. Of the 
officers. Colonel Bross, and Captain Flint, were killed, and but 
one of the Captains escaped unhurt. JMajor Brown was 
wounded. Adjutant Downing was severely wounded and taken 
prisoner; Captain Aiken, mortally wounded. Captain Porter, 
slightly, Ca})tains Daggett and Brockway, severely. There is a 
touching account of the manner in which the Colonel became 
possessed of the colors, given in the simple language of one of 
the Sergeants. " They were in the hands of Corporal Maxwell, 
2 



18 MEMOEIAL. 



wlio was wounded early in the advance. Corporal Stevens 
took them, but was cut down from the top of the works. Corpo- 
ral Bailey seized them, and was instantly killed. Private Barret 
then seized them, and bore them to the top of the fort, but fell 
dead. Captain Brockway then took them, but was severely 
wounded, and let the flag fall. It was then taken by Colonel 
Bross, who planted it upon the parapet of the works, the 
furthest point reached by our troops. The Colonel then drew 
his sword, took his hat in his hand, and cried, ' Rally^ my 
brave hoys, rally F- The men pressed up to him, but he quickly 
fell." 

From the various accounts given, it is evident that the colored 
troops were required to do a work which it was impossible for 
any troops to accomplish ; and that they did all that was possi- 
ble, under the circumstances. Tlie unanimous statement of those 
who saw the whole action, is, that there was a delay to charge 
upon the fort, after the mine was exploded ; and that thus time 
was given for the rebel forces to recover from their first panic, 
and to man the surrounding works so as to be ready for the 
charge when it came. It is in testimony, also, that the first 
advance, made by General Ledlie's division of the Tenth 
Corps, instead of rushing forward at once, to gain the possession 
of Cemetery Hill, halted as soon as it came to the crater formed 
by the explosion. This delayed the supporting brigades, which 
when ordered up were thrown into confusion ; and the gorge 
was soon packed with men, who became the prey of the enemy's 
batteries. The colored troops, under General Ferrero, were 
thus not ordered to the charge till nine o'clock, more than four 
hours after the explosion, when there was plainly no hope of 
siaving the day. Yet without the least flinching, they rushed to 
the charge, and only retreated when ordered, and after most of 
their of&cers had fallen. Those Avho saw them go into the light, 
have never charged them with any cowardice. It is their belief 
that Cemetery Hill would have been easily taken, had the 
previous chajge been made in time, and with the anticipated 



MEMORIAL. 19 



success. For prisoners from the rebel regiments declared, they 
had been marched four miles that morning, and were there in 
time to take part in the thick of the fight ; that at first, only a 
single row of men, five feet apart, stood to defend our attack. 

It is affirmed, without contradiction, that among those who 
penetrated furthest, Colonel Bross was the very foremost man ; and 
his dead body wasfoimd the most advanced of any ivho were left on 
the field. 

The following letter from the officer commanding the division, 
does not require explanation, or admit of qualification : 

" Head- Quarters, Fourth Division, Ninth Army Corps, ) 
Camp near Petersburgh^ Virginia^ August 7, 1864. ) 

Hon. Wm. Beoss, Chicago : 

Dear Sir: Although not the first to communicate to you the sad intelligence 
of the death of your brother, Lieutenant Colonel John A. Bross, 29th U. S. 
colored troops, I can still offer you my sympathy in your affliction, and pay tribute 
to his memory. He was a thorough gentleman, a good soldier, and a brave 
officer. His loss is deeply felt in his regiment, and throughout this entire com- 
mand. He was one of those of whom the service 'can aflford to lose but few.' 
His brigade commander, in his report of the action, speaks as follows : ' I desire 
to pay a tribute to Lieutenant Colonel Bross, 29th United States colored troops, 
who led the charge of this brigade. He was the first miin to le.ap over the 
works, and bearing his colors in his own hands, he fell never to rise again.' 

Altliough he has left us, his example is still with us, to incite each and every 
one to do all, and to dare all, for the benefit of his country, and the suppression 
of this unholy rebellion. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

EDWARD FERRERO, 
Brigadier General Commanding.'" 

Falling where he did, and his men retreating, his body 
remained where he fell, and <3ould not be recovered. In the 
afternoon, the enemy established their pickets bey&nd where he 
lay, and buried him on the field. The ground at this time, is 
still within the enemy's lines ; and whether his body will be 
recovered by his friends, is uncertain. But his is a soldier's 
grave; and no fitter spot could be selected than that where he 



20 MEMOEI AL. 



fell, in the service of his country, and in obedience to tlie will 
of his God. 

Of his connection with the army of the Potomac, thus writes 
a friend : " Though he had been here but a few weeks, he 
seems to have won the confidence and the esteem of the entire 
corps with which he was connected. All the ofl&cers speak of 
him in the highest possible terms. His regiment adored him. 
His conduct on the field was magnificent. As General White 
expressed it, ' all that can be acquired by dying the death of a 
Christian patriot, he brilliantly won.' His praise is in all the 
army. His record and his reward are on high. A Christian 
soldier could not wish a more noble death." 

Thus ended the life of one who, as was expressed by his 
Major, " was everything that was good and brave." It is a 
consolation to his sorrowing friends, to know that he lingered 
not in suffering, nor was exposed to the cruelties of barbarous 
enemies, but " flashing his soul out with the guns," he was, one 
might almost say, translated to the world above ; simply crying 
as he fell, " Oh ! Lord," a prayer begun on earth, but finished 
above. In those last moments it must have been with proud 
satisfaction that he saw the bravery of his oflicers and men, 
and knew that not one faltered in his duty. Captain Flint died, 
while pressing forward, and the senior Captain, Hector H. Aiken, 
a superior and promising young officer, fell mortally wounded, 
and died, after enduring, with fortitude, untold suffering in 
reaching our lines. 

It remains to speak of Colonel Bross more particularly in 
some points of his life and character, as yet unnoticed, and 
especially as a Christian gentleman. 

His first special interest was awakened in his youth. He 
states, that when but eiglit or ten years of age, in accompanying 
his father to a prayer meeting, while passing through a piece 
of woods, his father knelt, and prayed with an earnestness 
which made an impression upon his mind that was never effaced. 



MEMORIAL. 21 



Afterwards, and while at the academy of his brother, in 
studying Wayland's Elements of Moral Science, the truth as 
there laid down, as to man's moral obligations, fixed itself in 
his mind, and his sensibilities were much moved. Nor did the 
impression vanish. He deliberately made up his mind on the 
whole subject, and chose the fear of God ; and though not at 
once making his determination known, he never afterwards 
wavered in his religious life. He united with the Presbyterian 
Church at Chester, Orange county, New York, in the year 1847. 
Upon coming to Chicago, he connected himself, first with the 
Second Presbyterian, and afterwards cast in his lot with the Third 
Presbyterian Church, with which he continued his membership 
until the time of his death. He was an exemplary and active 
member ; being an attendant upon the church prayer meetings, 
and aiding in the Sabbath School. For many years he took 
charge of the choir, and led the service of song. He was, also 
for a time, the Superintendent of its Sabbath School, and until 
entering the army, took charge of the children's music. A 
strong proof of the affectionate estimation in which he was 
held by the children, was given, on his first departure, when 
they presented him a beautiful sword and equipments. 

Nor did he restrict his labors to his official duties. At the 
same time that he had charge of the choir, and the care of the 
Sabbath School in the church, he was also a teacher in a remote 
Mission School, taking out a bevy of teachers upon Sabbath 
afternoons, during the entire summer of 1856, and thus main- 
taining a point of instruction in the region of what is now 
called the Williams Street School, connected with his church. 

His religious character was one which entirely corresponded 
with his intellectual. There was nothing artificial about it. 
His mind was one that was singularly harmonious. Its charac- 
teristic was its fidelity to principles and friends. His aim was 
to seem to be what he was. While enforcing truth by example, 
he never made a display of religion, nor rendered it obtrusive. 
But his convictions were clear, and his will indomitable. All 



22 MEMORIAL. 



his conduct was entirely in accordance with the principles he 
held ; and made its own appropriate impression. 

His genial character made him a favorite with both officers 
and men: all feeling, that in hun thej had a sympathizing 
friend. One of them, returning after his death, stated, that, 
" on the Friday before he fell, he consulted with him upon home 
matters, which he would never have thought of mentioning to an 
ordinary superior officer." "I never knew," he remarked, 
"that the Colonel was a professor of religion, but any one ob- 
serving his daily conduct, and calm, cheerful manner in the 
greatest danger, must feel that he was a Christian." 

He felt his responsibility in the care of colored troops, and 
had thought and planned for their moral and religious well- 
being. He had thus commended himself to their confidence 
and 9,ffection, and was not only obeyed and respected, but 
loved by them. 

One who came back with the Colonel's horse, remarked, 
" some said the Colonel was a religious man. He did n't 
know anything about that; but he was the best man he ever 
knew. He would not let any one about him say bad words, 
and he was so good to his men, that they would all be shot 
down before they would let him be taken prisoner." 

In a letter, dated at Camp Casey, Virginia, May 18, 1864, 
there occurs this passage : 

" I hope you will not think I wish to make a parade of my religious profes- 
sion, when I tell you I commenced my ' mess ' in saying grace ; and I shall 
continue to do so. I did not do this in the 88th. The 5th Massachusetts 
cavalry, (colored,) were here some days last week. The first afternoon they 
came, I entertained the officers at supper. They were hungry, and pretty 
well exhausted. As they took their seats, one young officer, in a half-serious 
and half-comic mood, asked me, 'if I would say grace.' I was standing at 
the head of the table at the time, having been engaged in seating them. I 
replied gravely, tliat it was always my habit at home, and should be pleased 
to do so here; and said it. There was a hushed set of officers for the time being, 
and very respectful conduct through that meal, though the conversation on 
military matters took a lively turn at the last. 



MEMORIAL. 23 



' ' More and more, since I have been here, do I feel the weight of responsibility. 
The pleasure arising from the consciousness of emding what is just and right 
towards men and God, has been great. I have felt the force of example, and 
shall ivj to continue it. If I have neglected religious duty heretofore, I will 
try hereafter, and not have the terrible words— ' Ye knew your duty, but ye 
did it not, ' addrassed to me. ' ' 

His remark concerning his table habits while connected with 
the 88th regiment, must not be construed to import a want of 
religious activity at that time, as all who were there associated 
with him state that he was always to be relied on in any Chris- 
tian undertaking. 

A young man, a member of his company at that time, writes 
to his mother : " The example and advice of our Captain have 
led me to form new resolutions; and now, by help from on 
high, I intend to lead a new life." A more amusing instance 
of the force of example, was given in the conduct of his colored 
servant, who, at the first firing at Stone River, " made super- 
human leaps to the rear." When remonstrated with, he pro- 
tested he could not help it, though he declared, that in the 
future he would tiever retreat. After the campaign and battle 
of Chickamauga, wherein Bill had shown the strength of his 
resolution, the camp was exposed to shelling from Lookout 
Mountain, and many attempted to seek shelter from the ene- 
my's bullets ; Bill was coolly pref3aring dinner, and a colored 
man not far off was engaged in the same operation, when a 
shell burst uncomfortably near. With one huge bound, the 
latter threw himself into a ditch at the bottom of a ravine near 
by, when Bill cried out with scorn, '' What you doin down dar ? 
Why do n't you sit straight^ like me and de Captain?" Evi- 
dently thinking his own courage now quite superior to anything 
about him. 

Of his professional character, and the high esteem in which 
the lawyers of Chicago held him, the resolutions of the Bar 
will eloquently speak. In person, Colonel Bross was about six 
feet in height, slender and compactly built. His features were 



24 MEMORIAL. 



regular and finelj'- moulded, and his countenance indicative of 
strongly marked character, and refined sensibilities. As an 
ofiicer, his appearance was finer than that of a majority of those 
in command. A fine figure, a pleasant, commanding counten- 
ance, and strong musical voice, could not fail to aid him in his 
military duties. 

Rarely do we find, combined in one individual, so many of 
those natural gifts, which rendered him a most genial and 
pleasant companion. His generous nature, delicate regard for 
the feelings of others, and unostentatious manners, caused him 
not only to be a favorite in a large family circle, but endeared 
him to all. He entered into the enjoyment of those about him 
with a sympathy which caused even children to delight in his 
society. The strength of his social and domestic attachments 
was very marked. His friendships were sincere and true ; his 
grasp of the hand, warm and cordial. He trusted others, and 
could himself be trusted. 

, Possessing a fine appreciation of the grand and the beautiful, 
his enthusiasm was always aroused by heroic action, or the 
sublimities of nature. The latter afforded him peculiar pleasure 
during his connection with the army of the Cumberland ; the 
varied mountain scenery of Tennessee reminding him of places 
familiar in early life. Fatigue or weariness seldom prevented 
vivid transcriptions of their.beauties, for the benefit of " loved 
ones at home." 

Amid engagements of other kinds, ho found time for culture 
in music and literature, having a passionate fondness for both. 
An indefatigable reader, with an uncommon memory, his 
knowledge was extensive, and his acquaintance with the poets, 
British and American, more than usually intimate. He was 
gifted with fine musical taste, and possessed a sweet voice, well 
cultivated. With the best productions of the masters of song, 
in this and former ages, he was familiar. For a favorite tune 
he sometimes arranged a few verses, as in the following song 
addressed to his wife, during a short absence : 



MEMOEIAL. 25 



TCNB — " Will you no come back again." 

" Bonnie wifie's now awa, 

Safely o'er the prairie lea; 
My heart I 'm sure would burst in twa 

Should she ne'er come back to me. 

She will soon come back to me, — (repeat) 

Better lo' ed she canna be, 

She will soon come back to me. 

Scotia's and New England's flower,* 

Cultured on the prairie wide: 
Sweet and blissfu' was the hour 

When that flower became my bride. 

She will, etc. 

Love doth sparkle in her e' es. 

Beauty crowns my wifie's brows, 
Grace in every movement shines, 

Goodness from her heart o'erflows. 

She will, etc. 

Light of all my weary hours, 

Smiling all my cares away. 
Blessings through her magic power 

Beam along life's troubled way. 

She will, etc. 

The following productions, tliough impromptu, and of course 
only intended for the eye of most intimate friends, are inserted, 
because they show both the strength of his domestic attach- 
ments, and the fervor with which he loved the cause in which 
he was. engaged. This first, as he says, was " written 'hastily, 
while on picket," May 8th, 1863. 

♦ The fatlier of Colonel Bross' wife was from Scotland, and her mother, a native of Vermont. 



26 MEMORIAL. 



LINES WRITTEN MAY 8th, 1863. SALEM. ON PICKET. 
This day Mason attains the age of Cora when she died — two years, seven months, fotir 



There is a boon to mortals given, 

The choicest gift, bestowed by Heaven, 

It blesseth, bringeth Heaven near, 

'T is home, a wife, and children dear. 

All these, ! Lord, thou knowest are mine, 

And for them all, Oh, Lord divine. 

While mortals, yea, immortals live, 

A liusband's, father's thanks I give. 

My cliildren, twins in age on earth, 

Thy father cannot speak thy worth 

To him — nor all liis heart- felt joy, 

My daughter sweet, my darling boy. 

My Cora, dear, thy precious form 

Stands out before me mild and warm 

Witli life, and suun}^ smiling face, 

And stamped with all thy mother's grace. 

I see thee ope the household gate. 

While mama at the door doth wait. 

And, tripping 'long the walk, I see 

Thee come, and stretch thy hands to me. 

To " kiss pa," quick with childish glee, 

Delighting with infantile charms. 

While close you nestle in my arms. 

Ah! who shall tell the father's pride, 

As with thee to the door I glide. 

Receiving there a double share 

Of joys that banish every care. 

Oil! never, never can it be. 

That from the grasp of memory 

Those household joys can e'er depart; 

They' re anchored safe within my heart. 

There came a time (for angels roam 
Around each dear domestic home,) 
When angels to their home above 
Allured our sweet and precious dove 
By fiat of the Infinite Love. 



MEMORIAL. 2*7 



Oh, Godl our hearts were crushed and bruised, 
When that dear silver cord Thou loosed, 
And yet from out our deepest grief. 
Thou gently ministered relief. 
And now. Thou great Eternal One. 
We pray as then — "Thy will be done," — 
While up from deepest grief we grope, 
There comes angelic, star-eyed Hope 
To soothe away our sharpest pain. 
And faith that we shall meet again. 
And oh, there is a thought to bless, 
A.nd raise from woe to happiness : 
While that sweet form no longer here, 
Shall e' er again her parents cheer. 
She 's safe from earthly tempests driven 
O'er mortals here — she 's safe in Heaven. 
And as the glorious orlj of day . 
Sinks now behind the hills away, , 

All nature calm and still and sweet, 
The day and night in greeting meet, 
Shall soon again in splendor rise, 
• Beam gladsome light in Eastern skies. 
So shall our eyes with Heavenly vision 
See that sweet form in fields elysian, 
Arrayed in light — forevermore 
She '11 greet us on the Heavenly shore.* 

And now I turn from that sweet gem 

That sparkles in Christ's diadem. 

And Mason in my heart I clasp, 

With strong, convulsive, throbbing grasp. 

A prayer I lisp — Oh God, most great. 

Do spare his life — to man's estate 

May he grow up — in virtue be 

A model; and from vice e'er free. 

My boy, a year has nearly gone. 

And spring her gorgeous robes hath donned, 

Since on thy lips I 've kisses pressed. 

Or locked thee in a fond caress. 

Since when you first hsped, "papa" — "car," 

He 's learned the dreadful trade of war. 

And from the "picket" where his sword 

Is ready for the rebel horde. 



28 MEMOEIAL. 



He sends you words you may not know 

Until in years you older grow. 

But mama, in her love for me, 

Will gladly tell them o'er to thee — 

Oh, then my boy, I charge you by 

All things on earth and Heaven high, 

By all privations, hunger, toil. 

Papa endures on rebel soil, 

By his heart-sickness — self denial. 

His leaving home — his greatest trial. 

By every hope that has its birth 

Of happiness in Heaven or earth. 

Thy country love — stand by her cause. 

Her Constitution and her laws ; 

And if thy father in this strife 

With rebels yieldeth up Ms life, 

A sacrifice upon the altar 

Of freedom — Union — do not falter. 

In boyhood, youth, at man's estate, 

In cherishing a manly hate 

Of all the giant sin and wrong. 

Against which now a mighty throng 

Of freemen gathered in their might. 

Are fighting; and for God and right. 

I pray that peace with gentle ray 

May soon throughout the land bear sway, 

And union, law, and liberty 

Pe ours — a blood-bought legacy. 

But yet if this inhuman strife 

Shall last until thy young heart's life 

Shall grow to manhood — ever be 

Among the brave hearts true and free, 

Who give their lives for liberty — 

So shall the debt thou owest to man 

Be paid ; with those who ' re in the van 

Of progress, with their flag unfurled, 

And giving freedom to the world. 



M E M O E I A L . 29 



The following was written in his tent, on the anniversary of his 
little daughter's death, having also just been made acquainted 
with the fact that he was to lead the charge^ in which he so soon 
lost his life : 

IN MEMORIAM. 

Once more amid the circling j'ears, 
The day comes back suggesting tears 
Of sorrow for the loved and lost! 
Of brightest hopes of being, crossed 
By one fell stroke; and in the dust 
Those hopes in death's cold ruin crushed. 
'T is well that memory fondlj' clings 
Around her as she xuas ; while springs 
My fancy down the track of time, 
And dwells in that ideal clime, 
On what she might have been ; a youth, 
A maiden, full of love and truth; 
A woman grown to please, to bless. 
And graced with beauty, loveliness; 
All these ray fancy pictures now, 
While in the West the sun doth bow, 
And sink behind Virginia pines, 
Illuming "rebel," "Union," lines. 
So sank it o'er the prairie lea. 
When that dear soul immortal, free 
From earthly ill, to angels given, 
Became a cherub safe in Heaven. 

And since her father, in the strife 
To save the nation's rights and life. 
Has ta'en the sword, another thought 
At times, within his mind has wrought. 
K angels watch and guide the path 
Of mortals in this life, and have 
In battle or temptation's hour. 
Death's darts to turn aside, the power, 
Oh then amid the cannon's rattle. 
And on the ' ' perilous edge of battle, ' ' 
Is not sJie there to watch, and ward 
Off danger, and her father guard ? 



30 MEMORIAL. 



And if in that all wise design, 

That takes an insect's life, or mine, 

Should rebel, hurling rebel dart 

Transfix this poor and sinful heart. 

Shall not tliis cruel, dreadful blow 

Removing me from earth below. 

From heaven on earth, all earthly joy, ' 

My angel wife, my darling boy. 

But introduce me to the being 

Through a glass darkly now we're seeing 1 

Forgive, Oh Lord, our vain regret 

And tears o'er Cora's loss; and yet 

We 're mortals; yet we 'd love to live — 

Enjoy all bliss this world can give — 

Live, to enjoy sweet peace again,' 

0' er all this land once more to reign — 

Live, to enjoy a green old age. 

Wife, children, Heaven's heritage. 

Camp in the fields Norfolk R. E., near Pdershurgh^ Va.^ July 6, 1864. 
Anniversary of Cora' s death. 

In his death, his family have lost more than any one can dare 
undertake to estimate. Society has lost a valuable member ; 
the army, an accomplished and rising officer. But his country 
has gained a hero, and will keep his name forever. There will be 
a place for him in history ; and though the enterprise in which 
he fell did not succeed, it was by no fault or short coming of 
his. Had all done their duty, as did Colonel Bross and his gal- 
lant officers and men, the undertaking had been a success as 
brilliant as any which the annals of war record. 

All the consolation, therefore, which can remain from the 
pure memories of one " gone to the dear and deathless land," 
is left to the wife who weeps his departure, and is in store for 
his boy, who will learn his own loss only as years add to his 
powers of comprehension. The best of husbands and of fathers ; 
honored and loved in society; useful and successful in his 
profession ; trusted and confided in by the Church of God ; an 



MEMORIAL. 31 



unselfish, earnest, devoted, heroic soldier ; a firm, yet kind and 
manly officer ; respected and beloved in all his relations, while 
in life, and dying in the very front of the battle, as brave men 
love to die — what more could be asked ? While the land has 
such men and such memories, it has everything to hope and 
nothing to fear. 

' ' His was a death whose rapture high, 

Transcended all that life could yield; 
' His highest glory thus to die, 

On the red battlefield ; 
And they may feel who love him most, 

A pride so holy and so pure, — 
Fate hath no power o' er those who boast 

A treasure thus secure. ' ' 

When there is even a shadow of uncertainty connected with 
the fate of a loved one, hope must still linger, suggesting the 
possibility of mistake, in the inevitable confusion necessarily 
following a battle. This agonizing suspense hung over the 
death of Colonel Bross; and not* till the last of October, 1864, 
did conclusive evidence come in regard to his fate. Lieutenant 
Ridenour, of the 28th United States colored troops, a personal 
friend of the Colonel, who was severely wounded, and taken 
prisoner, was the first to communicate the sadly certain tidings. 
Lieutenant Ridenour was paroled October 7th, and being still 
too disabled to write, a brother penned for him, a letter, from 
which an extract is made, giving all that is now known of the 
Colonel's resting place : 

' ' My brother was wounded in five places, and as he lay on the field the Colo- 
nel fell quite near him. He was shot in the left side of the head, and died 
instantly without a groan. My brother took from his pockets, his purse, diary, 
book containing letters, etc., hoping to save them for his friends, and supposing 
the ground would be held by our own troops. The result you know. He 
found himself in the hands of thieves as well as traitors, who deprived him of 
everything, even shoes, etc. As the men bore the Colonel off the field, my 
brother gave them his name, rank, and place of residence, entreating them to mark 
his grave; telling them his friends would spare neither pains nor money to 
secure his body. Brave and heroic, he died in a holy cause, manfully doing his 



32 M E M E I A L . 



duty, and his unselfish spirit went up from that gory battle-field, as we doubt 
not, to a haven of eternal bliss." 

Laid to rest by rebel bands, tbe numerons tributes to bis 
wortb sbow tbat in many hearts be will ever bave a place. 
Writes one wbo only knew bim in camp : 

' ' Though a stranger, I ask permission to assure you of sympathy in this great 
bereavement. His sad fate has been much upon my mind. The loss of such a 
one to wife and child, and that family of brothers, of whom he told me, is 
unspeakable, but the gain to himself I know is far greater. In all his com- 
mand and intercourse. Colonel Bross was decided in his influence, and held the 
respect of all who knew him, as a Christian gentleman. He did not lose sight 
of the spiritual welfare of his men, while fitting them for their military duties, 
ftut aimed to make them soldiers of the cross as well as soldiers of the Union. 
Oh that more were like him." 

A letter from one of tbe members of bis company in tbe 
88tb, to a friend, exhibits tbe feeling witb wbicb be was still 
regarded by tbem : 

" The men felt as though they had lost their best friend when they lieard of 
the deatli of Colonel Bross. It seems as though the bravest and best are taken. 
It is a loss too, to our distracted country, when in her great peril she is not in 
condition to sacrifice many such men as was he." 

Tbe following letter from a private, sbows tbe devotion to 
bim wbicb was felt in tbe ranks : 

' ' Camp near Petersburgh. 
"Mrs. Colonel Bross: 

Respected Madam: You will please excuse this letter, that I pen to you, but as 
I am one of the soldiers brought up under his discipline, I deem it my duty to 
address you. Allow me to say, that although a colored man, a private in the 
29th, I found in Colonel Bross a friend, one in whom every member of the 
regiment placed the utmost confidence, for, and with whom, each one would 
help defend the countrj' to the end. Yes, I can say with truth, they would 
willingly die by his side. I was with him from the time the regiment left 
Quincy, until he reached the land of liberty or death. He loved his country, 
and fought for it, and may the Almighty never suffer his name to be blotted out 
of liistory. The 29th, with its leader gone, feels there is no such commander 
under the sun, to lead it forward and cheer it up. He was loved by every one, 
because he was a friend to every one. God has received him unto himself, and 



MEMORIAL. 33 



may he give peace to the hearts of us who loved him. Weep not for him who 
was one of God's chosen ones, who tried to deliver his people out of Egypt. 
But his appointed time had come to be changed, and God works all things for 
the best. Fearing I might tire your patience with my poor letter, I will close. 

Respectfully, 

WILLIS A. BOGART." 

A few extracts are appended from letters written by the offi- 
cers of his regiment, all breathing the love and confidence with 
which he ever inspired his associates. Such testimonials are 
numerous, but a few will suffice : 

" Head-Quartbrs 29th U. S. Colored Troops. 
' ' Mrs. Bross : 

My Dear Friend, : 1 can assure you we all participate in your heavy affliction. 
The Colonel was endeared to us all. His virtues, his noble, open, and frank 
heart, attracted all, and compelled admiration. Always sincere in his motives, 
his greatest care was to act honestly and justly. He was not only brave on the 
field, but possessed that moral courage which sustained him in the camp. 
Throughout the whole Division he was known and loved, and the universal 
expression is, " had he only lived." Cheerful and pleasant under the most 
trying circumstances, he was ever ready for duty without a murmur. 
*********** 

How he enjoyed singing. At times when everything seemed dull and stupid, 
his clear voice would lead some well-known tune, in which he would have us 
a,ll join. Soon stupidity would be changed to pleasure; and all gradually par- 
taking of his spirit, would be merry and happy. I will not strive to offer comfort ; 
religion only can soften such calamities. * * * 

Whenever I recall the scenes of that dreadful day, feelings of sorrow and 
regret inevitably arise. Before day we were up and ready. Every one felt the 
danger awaiting him, and there was unusual silence. All seemed occupied with 
their own thoughts. The Colonel came up to me, and we had a few moments 
of cheerful conversation. Soon the artillery opened — the musketry was dis- 
tinctly heard — the conflict had commeuced. In perfect silence we moved for- 
ward. My last interview with the Colonel was while wc were halted in the 
covered way. Captain Aiken and Lieutenant Gale were also there. Few 
words were exchanged, our thoughts, as usual at su6h times, straying home- 
wards. We little knew then that by incapacity and wanton neglect, thousands 
of lives were to be sacrificed. Again we were moving forward. The outer 
line of works was passed, and we were hastening up tlie hill to the fort. Here, 
friend and foe, living and dying, were heaped together, causing us to halt in the 
midst of a destructive fire of both musketry and artillery. I well remember 
3 



34 MEMORIAL. 



how he looked, standing in the midst, his countenance hghted up with steadfast 
hope and an almost superhuman courage, he cried out, " Forward, 29th," and 
we moved on over the mass. The men were falling thick and fast, and soon my 
turn came. Lying on the field, I felt the auspicious moment had passed. His 
form was ever a prominent mark. Turning to Captain Brockway, he said, 
"bring forward the colors." Then seizing them in his own hand he cried, 
" Follow me, my men." But it was in vain; the enemy were concentrated. 
It was madness for us to charge where three Divisions had already failed. As 
we were ordered back, the Colonel was seen endeavoring to rescue the colors. 
Standing upon the parapet he said, ' ' The man who saves those colors shall be 
promoted. ' ' The fatal ball came, and he fell, but the legacy of his bright example 
and the memory of his noble deeds remain. The intense sorrow and grief of 
that night I will not attempt to portray. 



With deepest sympathy, 

FRED. A. CHAPMAN, 
lAevienmi 29</t U. S. Colored Troops. ' ' 



In Front op Petersburgh. 



Mrs. Colonel John A. Bross 



Bear Madam: With deepest sorrow I attempt to tell you something of the 
' relations our regiment sustained to our lamented Colonel, though I know I shall 
fail to express my veneration for that noble, generous soul, who has so heroic- 
ally given himself a sacrifice for the liberties of our country. His spirit has 
gone, but his noble acts and example are left, to his child, and to us, well 
worthy our emulation. May his boy as he grows to manhood, show himself 
worthy such a father. We too shall be wise if we follow in his footsteps of 
usefulness, and labor as did he, all forgetful of self, for the good of others. 
Your husband, loved and lamented by all who knew him, with every thought 
and impulse so pure, richly bore that beautiful and significant name, "a Chris- 
tian soldier." I have seen him under circumstances that tried men's souls, and 
know how steadfastly he maintained his Christian consistency and the integrity 
of his character. 

The officers and men of the regiment, which, through his unceasing efforts, 
became what it was, offer you their fullest sympathy. We know your loss is 
great; but we too miss him, and you hardly know how sadly. I had learned to 
love him as a brother, and in memory of him, tears will come. All who knew 
him, were forced to respect his superior character. I sometimes feel as if he 
had a presentiment that ho would not survive the charge. On the evening of 
July 6th, in conversation concerning the anticipated enterprise, though he said 
comparatively little of himself, yet his few words were full of meaning. Ho 
said the undertaking would bo dangerous, and many must fall; he might be 



MEMORIAL. 35 



among the number; but let the danger be what it might, he should go at the 
head of the regiment wherever it was ordered. Two men of Company D, saw 
him fall, and made efforts to carry him awa_y, but could not and save them- 
selves. I know there is not a man in the regiment who would not have saved 
him at any cost, had it been possible, for he was idolized by them all. 

To us, it seems as if one whose life was so useful, should have been spared; 
but we must trust him in the hands of our Heavenly Father who doeth all 
things well. That we may all meet him there, is the prayer of his devoted 

friend, 

J. J. GOSPAR, 

LieuienaiU and Q. M. 2^th Colored Troops. ' ' 

"Near Petersburgh, Oct. 20th, 1864. 
" Mrs. Colonel Bross : 

Dear Madam : I should have written you before concerning the sad events of 
July 30th, and the deep loss we there sustained, had I not been among the 
wounded myself, and but recently able to return to the regiment. Our Colonel 
was a man universally beloved by officers and men. His life among us was so free 
from any fault, so consistent as a Christian, that it challenged and won our entire 
confidence and love. In the management of his men, he was firm, yet kind, 
and though, as becomes an officer, a rigid disciplinarian, he happily had the 
judgment to blend kindness with discipline, and justice with moderation. His 
associations with his officers were of so generous a nature, that they seemed 
more of friend than commander. While he had their utmost respect, they 
felt that in him they had a friend ever ready to sympathize in their troubles. 
Though showing no partiality, weyetknew„he noted the different abilit^ies of 
those in his command. His name is often heard among the men, who think, 
and truly, that they will never again be led by a man in whom they can have 
such perfect confidence as they had in Colonel Bross. His death shows us his 
true bravery, almost rashness. Being myself wounded early in the engagement, 
T did not see him fixll, but I knew the fatal ball came while he was at the head 
of the regiment, nobly battling for the right. While we must ever mourn his 
loss, we must still glory in his sacrifice for such a holy cause; and we believe 
his name will be handed down to future generations as one who fell in sustaining 
the liberties of our country. He died as became ai brave, true-hearted, Chris- 
tian soldier. His whole regiment deeply feel his loss; and' we who survive, 
hoping to lead his men to other fields of battle, deeply sympathize with his 
friends and family. For if our loss is so great, how overvvlielming must it bo 
to them ? 

***** 

With much respect, yours, etc., 

THOS. A. CONANT, 
First Lieulena-at 20ih U. S. Colored Troojvi.'' 



36 MEMORIAL. 



Where there are so many officers and friends who write so 
kindly of him, it seems difficult to make suitable selections. 

" Head- Quarters 29th U. S. Colored Troops. 

Before Petersburgh^ September bih, 1864. 
"Hon. "Wm. Bross: 

Dear Sir : I would esteem it a great kindness if you would send me a card 
Photograph of my late much lamented ^nd highly esteemed Colonel. * * * 

We had many happy times togetlier during our — to me, alas 1 too short — 
acquaintance. When he visited me at the hospital, we used to make these old 
Virginia woods ring with auld Scotch songs. "My Nannie's awa," was a 
special favorite of his. He was delighted to hear me recite or read Burns, and 
many a hearty laugh we had at our "Immortal Bobby," and my Scotch pro- 
nunciation. Or we would start some sacred tune: " Sweet Hour of Prayer," 
' ' Marching Along, " "A Light in the Window for Thee, Brother, ' ' etc. The 
two former he taught me. 

I well remember the night we crossed the James. We had a long hot day's 
march on foot; his horse was sick. We were resting on an old stump when we 
received orders directing me to report to the hospital. He said, ' ' Doctor, I am 
glad you are going to the hospital; if anything should happen to me or my boys, 
we shall get the best attention, and if I am wounded, I wish you to attend to 
my case; I will not have any of these drinking Surgeons touch me." Then 
turning to an Orderly, he said, " call the officers. " When they were around 
him, he said, "Now, gentlemen, we are expecting to storm those works 
to-night or to-morrow morning earlj'-, and I wish it thoroughly understand that 
not a man is to leave his post to assist the wounded — no matter who falls ^ 7, or any- 
body else. Let the wounded lie where they fail, and press on. ' ' We then lay down 
on that corn-field — little thought I it was the last night we should spend 
together. 

This war, and that of the Crimea, have deprived me of many warm friends, 
but this last is the severest trial of all. Be assured I should prize one of hia 
pictures very highly. 

I am sir, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

D. MACKAY, 
Surgeon 2dlh U. S. Colored Troops." 

The following lines in memory of Colonel Bross, are from 
the pen of a stranger, who, as she says, "gained her knowledge 
of his political and religious principles, and of his life and death, 
from the columns of the newspapers. Who would not admire, 



MEMORIAL. SY 



nay, reverence sucli a patriotic, self-denying spirit ? Who could 
hesitate to pay tribute, humble though it be, to the memory of 
a martyr in the cause of freedom ? Dear and sacred forever be 
the spot where he rests !" 

TO THE MEMORY OF LIEUT. COL. JOHN A. BROSS, OF CHICAGO. 
(From the Chicago Dally Tribune.) 

Farewell, brave soul ! A nation mourns thy fate, 

And Freedom weeps that siuih should bleed for her; 

Thou wert her true-born son, iov freedmen'' s tears 

Embalm the dust of thy low sepulchre. 

Aye, thou couldst read upon their sable brows 

The autograph of Heaven — the seal of God; 

And joyful rose, at Liberty's high call. 

To grasp the sword and break Oppression's rod. 

A thousand hearts beat high on that dread morn ; 
Low words of cheer pass swift from man to man: 
He comes ! They hail with pride their noble chief. 
Whose dusky regiment is to lead the van. 
Before them looms the dark and fatal hill 
Where Death sits, throned upon its sullen crest. 
Waiting to open wide his fiery jaws 
And bathe in patriots' blood the green earth's breast. 

Now murderous volleys start the listening air. 

While far in front the Chieftain leads his band. 

Once, and again, he sees their standard fall, 

Held in the death-grip of a dying hand; 

He grasps the colors, waves his sword on high. 

Cheering the heroes with his latest breath — 

" ^aZ^y, my brave boys ! Rally! Fonvard — charger^ 

And, fighting, fell into the jaws of death. 

He fell, but angels wrote his name on high, 

As one who died to free his fellow man; 

That was Yas faith — he sealed it with his blood, 

And wove it in the future's glorious plan. 

Yes, he will be remembered when the sun 

Of Liberty shall light the Southern wave ; 

And the glad news from East to West shall run, 

" Peace to our Land," and "Freedom to the Slave." 

EMMA S. BABCOCK. 
Rutland, Wis., Sept. 2, 1864. 



MEMORIAL SERMOK 



IW HONOR OP THB 



LIFE AND SERVICES 



LIEUT. COL. JOHN A. BROSS, 

» WHO FELL WHILE LEADING HIS TB0OP8 IN 

THE ASSAULT AT PETERSBURGH, 

JULY 30, 1864. 

PREACHED IN THE THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CHICAGO, 
DECEMBER 11th, 1864, 



BT 

■J 

ARTHUR SWAZEY, Pastor. 



CHICAGO: 

TRIBUNE BOOK AND JOB OFFICE. 

1865. 



s E R m: O N. 



Matthew 10 : 34. — " Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I 
came not to send peace, but a sword. 

The ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace. "Wisdom is love promising better things, crying at the gates : 
"Riches and honor are with me, yea, durable riches and righteousness. 
My fruit is better than gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I 
cause those that love me to inherit substance ; and I will fill their 
treasure." The Prince of Peace, by whom "grace and truth" came 
into the world, calls after men with the offer of rest, and foretells a 
time when he will have made a new heaven, and a new earth, and 
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain. 

Had we no further instruction, and no experience in the methods 
by which goodness and truth work order into individual life, and into 
history, it would be quite natural for us to conclude upon turmoil as 
a sign of the absence of progress in knowledge and piety, and to expect 
the easy and graceful triumph of true righteousness. And indeed, with 
all our sources of knowledge, there are not wanting those who insist, 
that all courses which provoke the passions of men, are, by that sign, 
contrary to the peaceableness of true wisdom, and who see, in the sharp 
conflict of opinion, and the convulsions of society, only the reign of 
blind and malignant forces, by which the world is turned upside down. 
But whatever theories we entertain as to the methods by which wisdom 
ought to acquire her dominion, the fact glares out upon us, that false 
opinions, and corrupt interests, never surrender without a struggle, that 
wisdom often requires of her children gifts and sacrifices, and that the 
kingdom of God is extended by ceaseless conflict. 

The Prince of Peace gives peace to all men who trust in him, and 
obey his counsels. He has promised, and is preparing a universal 



42 SERMON. 



peace ; but he warns his disciples that stripes, imprisonment, and death 
are in store for those who hail the day of promise, as well as judgments 
for those who resist its coming. " Think not that 1 am come to send 
peace on the earth. I came not to send ^eace, but a sword." 

This declaration of the Lord contains in it no warrant for violence. 
It furnishes no apology for the spirit of vengeance. It proposes to gain 
no advantage by force of arms. Upon the question of the justifiable- 
ness of war, it has no direct bearing. It is a simple assertion, that the 
utterance, and maintenance of the truth, will insure turmoil and con- 
fusion, inflame the passions of men, give rise to hatreds, divide families, 
array man against man, and provoke the shedding of blood. His own 
appearing in the world, instead of being hailed with gladness, excited 
the wrath of those to whom he offered the words of life, to such a 
degree, that they not only mahgned him as a creator of sedition, but 
nailed him as a felon to the tree. To confess his name was to earn the 
contempt of society, the inheritance of an outcast, and a martyr's doom. 
To make a convert to his doctrine was, so far, to undermine the order 
of things to which the many clung as to their very lives, and therefore 
to provoke the vengeance of all orders of men. The truth would com- 
mend itself to some who would glory in confessing his name, and so 
become propagandists of the gospel. Thence divided families, and 
bitter feuds, and bloody wars, till the triumph. 

It is not necessary to think very profoundly, in order to discover 
some of the reasons why right opinions provoke serious conflict. 

The first thing we observe is the self-asserting quality of truth. It is 
no vis enertice. It is a vital something, demonstrative, endowed with 
powers ; a tremendous cause, effecting always a result. A burning 
candle is not merely a wick ignited ; it gives light. An acorn is not 
merely a solid inch of matter ; it is a mighty tree getting birth. The 
lightning is no mere pyrotechnic blaze ; it is the bolt of God. Truth 
is no mere phenomenon, — no mere plaything ; it \§, the light, the seed- 
power, the sword of God. 

Truth has a jiresence which can no more be hid or ignored, than a 
great soul appearing among men. It would be as natural to think of 
Moses, or Peter the Great living in the world unrecognized, as to think 
of truth not commanding the attention of men. 



SEEM ON. 43 



The self-asserting quality of truth is necessitated by the strong con- 
victions, and sense of its worth in those that possess it. To them it 
is the pearl of great price, the solvent of many hard problems. It 
mends misfortunes, opens many reservoirs of happiness, is an alterative 
for misery, the harbinger of a better day. It is itself excellence, the 
true good. The end of life is to acknowledge and obey it. 

And, further, truth compels believers to publish it. It is joy-giving. 
Like the woman who found 'the lost piece of silver, they must call 
together their neighbors and rejoice over it. Fire is shut up in their 
bones ; they must speak. She scorns them when they are silent, 
scourges them as cowards when they do not partake of her boldness, 
and honors them with a sense of manhood and personal worth when 
they publish her decrees. 

You might as well bid grandeur and beauty put off the investiture 
of God, the sea not to shimmer in the sun, flowers and plants to be 
inodorous, winds not to blow, hatred not to hate, love not to love, as 
to forbid truth to cry out everywhere, "Behold, here am I, admire or 
loathe me ; honor, or spurn me, here I am." Some mutilate or distort 
the truth, add lies to it, misapply the eternal law, and do incredible 
damage. But that is aside. It is yet to be said, that it is by no man's 
fault the truth gets utterance. It is its own outspeaking that makes 
so much clamor among men. Before the war Mr. Yancey demanded 
that citizens should cease to speak, as well as act, against slavery ; he 
might as well have demanded the risen sun not to shine. A man may 
say the South is fighting the Abolitionists ; by no means. The South 
fights to prove that a great principle of the New Testament ought not 
to assert itself among a Christian people. As though should they be 
victorious in every battle, truth would any the more learn to be 
silent. It was not the misdirected zeal of any number of men that 
raised the alarm, but the self-asserting power of truth, shining through 
disguises and bad passions, and sending beams, even in that way, from 
the throne of God into the slave-pen and the cotton-field. 

Furthermore, truth is al^vays antagonistical, more or less, to the pre- 
vailing order of things. In other words, there are always errors, and 
corrupt usages in society. To declare the truth, therefore, is to attack 
false opinion and wrong doing, and in such a way also, as to utterly 



44 SERMON. 



destroy them. In some circumstances right opinion, uttered in a right 
spirit, like the hght of heaven, by a wonderful chemistry, dissolves or 
materially changes many forms of wrong. Indeed this would always 
be the result, were the truth properly declared, and were the wrong 
doers simply unfortunate, and not in any measure attached to the forms 
of evil in which they live. As it is, however, there is collision ; often 
sharp and determined conflict. He who holds an error, does not so 
easily relinquish it. He whose life is in the wrong, does not so easily 
abandon his courses. The false opinion searches diligently for new 
supports. The false practice uses all manner of ingenuity to prepare a 
defense. At the approach of truth, therefore, the hold of sin becomes 
a strong hold ; and intricate and massive barriers bid defiance, and the 
war fairly begins. Resources are husbanded on either side, and hence- 
forth there is only a momentary lull in the fight. 

Truth, when she first appears, is usually esteemed a usurper, a 
destructionist, reckless of domestic quiet and order, or a vaporing 
knight-errant, proposing quixotic adventures. In a little while the 
weight of her mailed hand begets a measure of respect. In a little 
while her patient siege and slow advances increase her honor. A few 
more blows, and the enemy is divided. The mere vassals of the enemy 
come over to the side of Right. And after a while the terms she offers 
are, as though for the first time, discovered to be reasonable, and we 
capitulate to her, in whom we were too blind to see our true sovereign 
and rightful Lord. It took time, waste, hard usage, perhaps blood, to 
open our eyes to that whose excellence we wonder we had never seen 
before. Such battle and siege go on in every man's life. By the same 
order of things the world refuses to accept righteousness till it has first 
poured out its blood. 

The character of opposers makes conflict inevitable. 

There are the malignants, who hate all that is good, who boil with 
rage, whenever the calm face of virtue shines out upon them, — spirits 
in league with hell, utterly given over to devils, so that by a natural 
law, they go into spasms whenever a beam from the heavenly world 
falls on their souls. They are the revilers, the blasphemers. They 
belong to the class of men who struck Jesus in the face, always the 
more enraged as goodness shows itself to be goodness, without the mix- 



SERMON. 45 



ture of sin. These constitute an element in opposition to the progress 
of opinion seemingly terrific, and yet less harmful by far than the 
seeming. 

There are also the secularists, those whose opposition to right is 
grounded mainly in personal interests ; who have, it may be, no lack 
of admiration for abstract virtue, but at the same time have no scruples 
in putting aside all claims that infringe, in any way, upon their ease, 
or pride, or material advantage. They do not go out of their way to 
make war on any good thing. They do not always resent the approach 
of truth, unless it be clothed with power. But when their personal 
interests are threatened, when truth begins to undermine their caste, 
or their fortunes, they subsidise all their power to resist her progress. 
"With them everything is at stake, and they make the most determined 
and relentless war. 

There are the purhlind^ those, who in morals are on a higher plane than 
the last ; who have a certain respect and admiration for virtue, and are 
not without aims to do right ; who, indeed, in an absolute choice between 
good and evil, would choose the good at a sacrifice, but who, neverthe- 
less, are quite incapable of discerning evil in anything venerable and 
time-honored, or in anything sanctioned by respectable men especially if 
habits and customs to which they are inured are involved in the con- 
troversy. With much that, in the lighter sense of the term, is good 
in them, they are almost sure, when the conflict comes, to espouee the 
wrong. They learn to justify it by a thousand pleas, get confirmed in 
the belief that evil is good, and contend for it with all the devotion of 
persecuted and injured men. 

There are cowards, those who living in a still higher plane, are not 
utterly blinded by the prejudices of their place and time, or by personal 
considerations, who nevertheless, go over to the side of the wrong, 
through lack of real moral courage. The evil is an evil, they do most 
freely allow, but they see no way of escape from it. All remedies are 
empirical. All measures against, are fanatical. All who disapprove in 
strong terms, are arrogant, self-righteous intermeddlers. We are 
involved, they say, in that which, would to God never had a beginning,, 
but so it is with us ; so it must be. When, therefore, truth, refusing 
to be silent, declares that nothing is inevitable except the past, and seta 



46 SERMON. 



men at decided odds with the wrong, they see greater wrong in what__ 
ever remedy than in the evil itself, and naturally wheel into line with 
those who are pledged to spare no pains in the defense of iniquity. 

There are the laggards^ who rising yet higher than these, mean, as 
God shall help them, to overthrow all customs and opinions contrary to 
his law. But unfortunately theyput off the time of beginning so long, 
in hope of more favorable auspices, that the golden hour is lost. 
Difficulties multiply. New and complicated questions arise. Specta- 
tors, with or without an appreciation of their position, call them laggards, 
prophecy to them that the evil always wax worse and worse, and bid 
them go on. After that, all measures are an affront to them. No men, 
after that, are wise but they. And because truth will not wait for them ; 
because God is raising up children to Abraham from the stones of the 
street ; because the day comes before tliey were ready for it, they will 
have no part in the aggression. And more, they go over to the enemy, 
add moral power to a bad cause, and render the conflict still more bitter 
and relentless. 

Conflict is made necessary, also, by the disagreements of men who are 
equally impelled by the love of truth and righteousness. They have 
different theories, infused more or less with their own prejudices and 
passions. Some woulc| never waste a word in persuasion, but attack 
and demolish in the least possible time ; while others think right 
methods and a right spirit to be of as much importance as a formal 
victory. Some would strike the first blow at the root ; while others 
would rather hedge in, and stifle the wrong, and others still would 
send in a new life to outgrow the evil, and absorb all the vital cur- 
rents. Hence wars preliminary to, and attendent iipon, the great war ; 
sometimes productive of nothing but bad blood ; sometimes working 
out the truth, that neither of the parties were wise, and ending in some 
great event, which shows that God needs none of them, and will set 
the battle in array as no man thought of beforehand. 

It would be unjust not to add, that there are often parties on the 
right side of a given question who are so palpably on the wrong side 
of other questions, that they exasperate the abettors of the evil at haz- 
zard, and afford them a seeming justification. Some men who espouse 
a right opinion, are so utterly devoid of common sense, and charity, 



SERMON. 4*7 



that a devil even might think it piety in him to oppose them ; much 
more, men who are far from being abandoned. Some men, many men, 
who are on the right side of grave questions, are there palpably with- 
out conscience. They are valorous and virtuous, because all their 
worldly interests are on that side. Or they are valorous and unvir- 
tuous, because to embrace a doctrine which demands no sacrifice for 
thevi^ is a cheap way of maintaining self-esteem. 

And still further : When we reflect how great changes a truth some- 
times must needs make, if it be acknowledged, it is no longer a wonder 
that it unsheaths the sword. When our Lord said, "I am the Way, 
the Truth and the Life," he uttered words which, if true, must neces- 
sarily shake down the whole fabric of Judaism, and render effete the 
traditions of a thousand years. Wlien the early Christians repeated 
his words in the streets of Rome, they demanded, in effect, that Pagan- 
ism should disappear, and tlie La%v-giver of nations should change her 
laws. When John Huss sounded out the word, " God so loved the 
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
on him might not perish," he uttered a truth, which if received, must 
needs abolish the priesthood and monastic orders, and the whole 
machinery and social life of the Church of Rome. When the English 
Puritan declared that God gave him the right to worship according to 
the dictates of his own conscience, he demanded a change in the 
structure of the whole kingdom. When Roger Williams declared the 
same thing in Massachusetts, he demanded a change in the whole 
structure of that Commonwealth. When the Fathers of the Republic 
declared, with one consent, that all men are born free, they meant to 
demand of the generations after them a change, which they did not 
think it wise to attempt, in the civil life and domestic institutions of all 
the States whose foundations they had laid. These are the utterances 
that unsheathed the sword in Judea, in Rome, in Bohemia, in England, 
and in our once happy but now bloodstained land. 

Take the last and to us now all-absorbing illustration. Whether the 
negro be equal or not to another man, (which need not be asserted nor 
denied,) suppose him to be born free, having the natural right to liberty 
and tlie pursuit of happiness. Suppose it to be a demand of the New 
Testament that these rights be accorded to him, and how great th*^ 



48 SERMON. 



changes that must be made, in order to fulfil this command. Political 
balances must be disturbed. New industries must be established ; new 
commercial enterprises devised and fostered. Ease and affluence must 
change hands, and the whole domestic life and habit of thought take 
new form on an area far greater than that of some of the proudest 
empires of the world. Consider, now, the disinterestedness and per- 
sonal sacrifice necessary in order to accept such a revolution, the extra- 
ordinary virtue that must characterize not only the few but the many 
to make such a revolution even tolerable to them. Consider that the 
just and kind-hearted men and women disposed to listen to considera- 
tions of mercy, see in their own servants, a group of helpless, depend- 
ent, and yet happy people, to change whose lot, even for the better, 
must necessarily bring an interim of want and sorrow to both master 
and slave, — and who shall be found to begin in go6d earnest so great 
a work ? To sum all, consider that every earthly motive suggests the 
putting off the day, and that on the other hand, every inducement to 
emancipation is an inducement of simple righteousness, unaided by 
worldly considerations, and besides holds out the prospect of labor and 
want and trouble ; and we have little occasion to wonder, that a people, 
no worse than others, should themselves become bondslaves to this 
gilded lie. Nay more, consider that the great masses of any people 
are incapable of extraordinary sacrifices for the sake of principle 
unless they have some interest in the principle^ and it ceases to be a mat- 
ter of wonder that, the world demanding this millenial virtue at the 
hands of slaveholders, they should dream of a republic with slavery for 
the corner stone. 

Meantime that New Testament law, that assertion of the Declaration 
of Independence, that love of liberty which all men possess, do not 
wait for difficulties to dissolve, for men to find time and convenience to 
disentangle their affairs, and the words boom on ; the irresistible con- 
flict comes to be a fixed war of opinion, till alas ! alas ! the nine mil- 
lions of the South, smarting under the frown of the world, and partly 
conscious of the desert of that frown, dash themselves against the 
government ; and there is no arbiter but the sword ! Fire, pestilence, 
desolated homes and blood, must settle controversy, and widowed and 
wailing hearts must pay the price I 



S E K M O N . 40 



It ought to be added, that the mother crime of the South was not 
that her people were a slave-holding people, but that they grew into a 
love for their peculiar institutions, repented of their confessions ; that 
her Divines prophesied falsely, and all together, they renounced the 
thought of any change, earlier or later, in their domestic institutions. 
Hence the necessity of the arbitrament of force, God suffering them to 
choose the sword. It ought also to be distinctly understood, that they 
chose the sword ; they, not toe. Whatever errors we may have com- 
mitted ; however little the merit of our easy righteousness, requiring 
them to do justice to the bondman, we, at least, are permitted to 
remember, tliat we never dreamed for a moment of using tlie sword, or 
even attempting to change their laws : that it was no fault of ours, that 
we were able, without sacrifice, to believe the truth, the reception of 
which required sacrifice on their part ; that we were as bounden to 
accept the truth and declare it, and maintain it in the national domain, 
as though it affected our own, as well as their, civil polity and domestic 
life. We are permitted to remember, that we could liardly believe in 
their determination to resort to arms ; that we fondly dreamed that the 
first outbreak of rebellion was a spasm of rage, to which reason and 
quiet would succeed ; and that we were slow to gird ourselves for any- 
thing more than a momentary conflict. They chose the sword. Our 
love of country, our sense of responsibleness to the past and to the 
future, and our perception that the great day had come for the trial of 
our national life, constrained us to accept the arbitration of the sword. 
We saw before us fields white with the bones of men, and watered by 
rivers of blood. We saw in vision, a great army of widows and 
orphans and mutilated men. We saw also, how far off we could not 
tell, a nation miglitier, purer, and more glorious, emerging from the 
conflict, and we accepted the arbitration of the sword. 

The price of our inheritance is hlood ; who shall pay the price ? 
A great principle of the crucified Redeemer has stirred the hatred and 
desperation of men ; the question whether the truth of God shall be 
silent is to be settled in blood ; who shall ofler himself for his country 
and his God? 

Our husbands and brothers and sons have answered these questions. 
The brave and the good have leaped into the breach, and by tliousands 
4 



oO SERMON. 



have gone down to death for us. That a thoughtless multitude, lured 
only by the fascination or wages of war, have made themselves soldiers 
for us, does not change the flict, nor lessen its sublimity, that a great 
moral necessity was laid upon men, and that multitudes have given 
themselves to their country, as the one great duty and privilege of 
their lives. Their names are written in heaven, and their honor will 
be celebrated here, till the story of the Great Rebellion is forgotten 
among men. 

Courage ! all men ! citizens ! soldiers ! rulers ! mourners ! This 
great day is one of the days of the Son of Man ! The Prince of Peace 
is hewing his way to the day of universal peace. 

It is appointed unto men once to die. Each man's death illustrates 
some law of God's government among men. I knew of no better way 
of honoring the memory of our cherished friend, and fellow-believer, 
than by enunciating the law by which he offered his life for his country. 
Truth gets her charter from God, but, sorrowful to say, her seal is blood. 
This he knew full well. "With this distinct thought in his mind, he 
harnessed himself for the Avar, as one who believed its battle-fields 
were altars, and who thought seriously that in the election of God's 
sovereignty he iftight be among the offerings. 

John A. Beoss was born in Milford, Pike county, Pennsylvania, 
February 21st, 1826. At the conclusion of a thorough Academic 
course, he engaged in the study of law, first in Goshen, New York, 
and afterwards in this city, where he continued in the honorable and 
successful practice of liis profession, until he enlisted in the volunteer 
army of the Republic. He came to Chicago in 1848. In 185C, he 
was married to Miss Isabella A. Mason, daiighter of Hon. Nelson 
Mason, now of Sterling in this State. The fruits of this union were 
three children, one of whom only, a little boy, four years old, survives 
to inherit the honor of his father's virtues. 

Possessed of a calm and conscientious mind, he was one to whom the 
outbreaking of the rebellion would naturally suggest the question of 
personal duty. Rarely, if ever, yielding to mere prejudice, he was one 
who Avould naturally get insight into the issues of the contest, and 
devote himself understandingly to the salvation of his country. Slow 



SERMON. 51 



to entertain new theories, undemonstrative, and unaffected, as some are, 
by the iiiere enthusiasm which new events of magnitude are calculated 
to inspire, he was one who, having settled a question, would henceforth 
have no doubts, but go on without vascillation, to the object before him. 
He did not respond to the first call for volunteers. He was, as we 
learn, weighing the question. But after serious reverses to our armies, 
and when it became clear that sacrifice must be made for the national 
honor, he saw before him but one path of duty, and gave himself with- 
out reserve to his country. 

He raised a company in the 88th Illinois, otherwise the Second 
Board of Trade Regiment, of which he was made Captain. He had 
experience under fire at the battle of Perryville, Avliere he conducted 
himself Avith great coolness and bravery. He had a conspicuous and 
honorable post in the battle of Stone River, in Avhich, during the first 
day's fight, his regiment alone repulsed, once and again, a whole brigade. 
His next engagement was at the battle of Chickamauga, where, with 
his fellows in arms, he held the left of the right wing firm in that ter- 
rible onslaught, till they were ordered to fall back to those who had been 
driven by the enemy. 

Other fields of labor and peril were in reserve for him, in which he 
displayed great capacity as an organizer and as a military leader. 

The question of employing negro troops had been agitated. Pre- 
judice against an unfortunate race caused many to doubt the wisdom of 
employing an Anglo-African force. Besides the doubters were many 
opposers. The white troops would not fight with black soldiers. The 
black troops would not fight at all. Black troops would be guilty of 
gross outrages on which war even must frown. All which meant that 
nothing was to be done, or allowed, which, by implication, admitted 
the worth of the Anglo- African as a man. With white blood enough 
in him to de- Africanize hira, he is yet to have no share in a war in 
whose issues are involved, largely, the destinies of his race. It is not 
safe that the stuff of which slaves arc made should have any otlier than 
a menial share in the works and achievements of men. Never did an 
African god on the banks of the Gaboon hold more unlimited sway 
over the African mind, than the idea of the inviolability of African 
destiny^ held over all men, even in the North, who had loved Ameri- 
can slavery. Prejudice, however, gave way in a measure. It was 



52 SERMON. 



remembered, that black troops fought well in the West Indies. It was 
remembered, that Washington used them to advantage. It was 
remembered, that Packenham brought a regiment of them with him to 
the attack on New Orleans, It was remembered, that Andrew Jack- 
son had black troops behind his entrenchments, and complimented tliem 
as good soldiers. Other things were remembered, and — black troops 
were mustered into the service of the Federal Union. They fought 
well, and they run — at times, just as Frenchmen and Englislimen and 
Yankees run. They died on the battle-field like other men. They 
filled as large a grave. 

Mr. Bross received commission as Lieutenant Colonel, and was 
ordered to raise a regiment of colored troops in this State. Owing to 
tardy action in Illinois, and consequently the removal of large numbers 
of colored men, and their enlistment elsewhere, it was a difficult task. 
Colonel Bross succeeded, and after some months of camp drill, he was 
ordered to join the Ninth Army Corps under Burnside, going no one 
knew Avhither. They found themselves in the front, at Petersburgh. 
Little dreamed they of the fate which was in store for them. Colonel 
Bross, however, knew his peculiar exposure, and had counted the cost. 
He knew that black troops would be used with less than the ordinary 
scrupulousness, in drawing fire of the enemy. He knew that the 
utmost severity would be visited upon the officers of colored troops who 
should fall into the hands of the enemy. Fort Pillow was before his 
eyes. Just before he left Chicago for Washington, I remarked upon 
his exposure. He replied with great seriousness, the moisture gatlier- 
inf in his eyes, I have counted the cost, and I am ready to be offered ! 
I said aloud, " God bless you." I said in my heart, " Here is a Chris- 
tian hero, worthy of any age or any conflict !" 

The 30th of July came; a day not soon to be forgotten, even after 
other struggles in this war have passed out of mind. The mines were 
sprung. Into that horrid gap, and upon the works beyond, seven 
colored regiments were thrown, his among the rest. Some one had 
BLUNDERED. They received no support, and fell in scores at the hand 
of the enraged enemy. Colonel Bross was at the head of liis men in 
the onset ; in the retreat he was in their rear, last of them all, holding 
aloft the battle flag. Before tlio remnant could escape, he received a 
shot in the head, and crying out "0! Lord," he instantly expired. His 



SERMON. 53 



grave, doubtless, is the grave of those who fell that day within the 
lineg of the enemy. God will keep his dust, and his memory will 
grow brighter and brighter in that long catalogue of heroes and mar- 
tyrs who have given their lives to liberty and to God. It is a little 
remarkable that he was accustomed to repeat Tennyson's " Charge of 
the Light Brigade," and especially these verses: 

' ' Forward the Liglit Brigade ! 
No man was there dismayed, 
Not though the soldiers knew 
Some one had bhmdered — 
Their' s not to make reply; 
Their' s not to reason why. 
Their' s but to do and die ; 
Into the valley of death '^ 
Rode the six hundred." 

Mr. Bross was a good husband, a tender father, a kind and generous 
neighbor. 

He was also an humble and decided follower of Jesus. His serious 
attention to the claims of religion Avas arrested, he used to say, by the 
fact that his father, -with Avhom he was going to cliurcli on a certain 
occasion, stopped in a lonely place to pray. 

I have reason to know, that in the army he was constant in his 
religious duties, and in circumstances where it required no little degree 
of moral courage to acknowledge his convictions, and do his duty. He 
had, however, no cant about him. He was simply straightforward 
and conscientious. 

He was a faithful and much-loved member of this Church. Many of 
us have known him long and well. Quiet, unpretentious, liberal accord- 
ing to his means, genial in spirit, and ready for every good word and 
work, we could not fail to esteem him, nor regret his loss when he 
left us for the field of strife. And now we mourn him, as we mourn 
good men whose lives have been linked Avitli ours and are no more. 
Nay, as we mourn good men who die for us. Nor we alone. He has 
numbered himself with those for whom a nation mourns, and over 
whose fate the lovers of our country, in all lands, will drop a tear. 



54 SEEMON. 



We live in solemn times. Many are strong to die. A great com- 
pany of tender women wring out of their bleeding hearts, an "^4??ie?i" 
to God's visitation of sorrow, if there be hope, that those who live, 
will prove pure and great enough to maintain the heritage on whose 
altars their beloved are already offered. May God give us grace to be 
"worthy of those who stand in the breach, and so inspire us with wis- 
dom, and the spirit of self-sacrifice, that nothing on our part may be 
wanting to finish the work, and that we may have some tolerable claim 
to share in the fruits of this time of sorrow. May God, in his mercy, give 
victory to our arms ; turn the hearts of our enemies, and bring these 
days of national trial and domestic anguish to a speedy end. May God, 
in his mercy, give us repentance, that there may be no let nor stay to 
the outflow of his great compassion. May we all learn that life is not 
in length of days, but in deeds ; that an early grave found in the ser- 
vice of our country and of God, is better than a long life of self-indul- 
gence; that he who dies with uplifted arm against iniquity, dies not, 
but becomes immortal ! 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR, 

RESOLUTIONS, SPEECHES, ETC. 



Immediately after it was known in the city that Colonel Bross had 
fallen before Petersburgh on the fatal 30th of Julj, a meeting of the 
Chicago Bar was held, and a committee was appointed to draft resolu- 
tions expressive of the sentiments of his former professional, associates. 
The report of the committee and the subsequent meeting was delayed 
for a few days, with the hope that his remains might be recovered and 
brought to this city for interment. Those efforts proved entirely fruit- 
less, for, as stated in the Memorial, he was buried inside of the rebel 
lines, and they are still (March, 1865,) in their possession. His friends 
now have little hope that they will ever be able to find his resting place. 
On Thursday, August 18th, one of the most deeply affecting and solemn 
meetings ever convened by the Chicago Bar, was held at the rooms of 
the Law Institute. As remarked by one of the speakers, they had lost 
one over whose character no mantle of charity need be thrown — in 
regard to whose life and death there was nothing to conceal. The first 
three or four speeches are given as reported in the Chicago Tkibune 
of the next day. The others have been kindly furnished for this Memo- 
rial by those who made them. The chair was occupied by Wm. A. 
Porter, Esq., and G. Payson was elected Secretary. 

George Herbert, Esq., the chairman of the Committee appointed 
on Resolutions, reported the following 

resolutions. 
Whereas, Our friend and brother, Lieutenant Colonel John A. Bross, 29th 
regiment U. S. Colored Troops, has fallen upon the field of battle — another 
victim upon the altar of our country. 

Resolved, That by his glorious death this Bar has lost one of its most cherished 
members, his regiment an able and fearless commander, the country a brave sol- 
dier, and humanity an earnest advocate and uncompromising friend. While we 
mourn, we cannot but gather consolation that anotlicr of our number, (having 
courageously assumed the chances alike from an open enemy in honorable war- 
fare, and a malignant foe in indiscriminate massacre,) ripe in Cliristian character 
and manly virtue, and impelled by patriotic devotion, has thus enrolled his name 
on that long list of heroes enshrined in the hearts of a grateful nation. 

Resolved, That though we shall miss Colonel Bross in the halls of justice and 
in the other walks of our common profession, we sliall not cease to remember 
the urbanity of his deportment, the geniality of his companionship, the integrity 
of his purposes, and the honestj' of his heart. 

5 



68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAE. 



Resolved^ That from our earliest acquaintance our departed brother illustrated 
the principles of universal philanthrophy having their foundation in the gospel 
he professed; and while his military career gave the highest evidence of his 
self-sacrificing patriotism and his fidelity to early convictions, leading liim to 
seok a path of danger unequaled in civilized warfare, in his heroic death he has 
sealed with his blood those great principles of our common humanity, which he 
believed to be inculcated by his Divine Masier. 

Resolved^ That we do not and will not forget that the dearest and tenderest of 
ties bound Colonel Bross to family, home and earth, and increased the sacrifice 
thus cheerfully made at the shrine of principle, patriotism, and humanity, and 
that we tender to those he held most dear our cordial sympathy in this bereave- 
ment. 

Resolved^ That a suitable committee be appointed to communicate the above 
resolutions to the United States Courts and the several courts of record, with 
the request that they be recorded therein. 

Resolved^ That copies of the foregoing resolutions, signed by the Chairman 
and Secretary, be presented to the family and brothers of the deceased, as a testi- 
monial of sympathy and regard. 

REMARKS OF MR. HERBERT. 

In moving the adoption of the resolutions, George Herbert, Esq., 
spoke nearly as follows : 

When I see around me the preceptor, the fellow-students, those who have 
stood on the same battle-field, and those who have been more intimately asso- 
ciated with Colonel Bross, in the work of doing good in the same church, I 
hardly feel entitled, as the mere professional brother and friend, to occupy your 
time, but overruled by the opinions of others, I will follow the impulses of my 
heart. 

On similar occasions I have ordinarily been silent, not from any want of sym- 
pathy with the object, but our profession has been so careful that the good our 
deceased brothers do, should not " be interred with their bones," and in their 
friendly zeal they have illustrated with such signal success, the heathen maxim — 
ITthil de mortuis niai bonum — 

that my simple English would sound tame and out of place. What, however, 
throws special interest upon this gathering is, that words and empty adjectives 
are not wanted to add to the simple, trutliful homage to a deceased brother, 
friend, patriot, soldier, and Christian. 

If our friend and brother were now here present, and could he give direction 
to our thoughts and words, he would not have us mention, as his most enduring 
claim upon our sympathy, esteem and remembrance, his standing in our profes- 
sion, however honorable, his sacrifices for his country, however noble and patri- 
otic, or his courage, or even the circumstances of his death; but the fact that he 
had ever lived an honest, sincere, upright. Christian life; that he had acted well 
his part, and when tried in the even balances, not of professional charity, 
but of gospel candor, he had not been found wanting. 

My knowledge of Colonel Bross was not so early in life as that of many others, 
neither do I feel that I have the same right to speak of him in his domestic and 
inner life as his more intimate associates. When I knew him, the heyday of 
youth was past. He was then just engaging in the earnest pursuits of his pro- 
fession with all the strength of early maiihood, and was forming around him 
those social bonds and family ties now so rudely sundered. Our intercourse was 
ever most cordial, our companionship was most genial, and beside the ordinary 



PKOCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 59 



bond of professional brotherhood, there was another hnk between us never 
unrecognized. 

I shall confine my remarks to but a single view of Colonel Bross' character, 
as the same has seemed illustrated in the last three years of his life, and leave 
to others whom I see around me to enlarge on its symmetrical proportions as 
developed in every relation he sustained to his family, to society, the bar, the 
church, and the nation. You all know his industry, his urbanity, his genial 
spirit, his integrity, his sense of professional honor, and the trutlifulness of his 
unostentatious life. But few, however, if any, even among his professional 
brethren or his intimate friends, would have supposed with his modest mien he 
could rise to distinction in civil life, much less in military. Yet beneath that 
calm exterior lay a mine of feeling hid from the public gaze, and an element of 
power which could, upon occasion, elevate him to the highest round of patriotic 
devotion and heroism, and nerve him for great deeds. 

While the heroic Roberts could by his commanding and massive presence, 
his dashing boldness, and the power of his will, control mankind and command 
our admiration, and, witliout fear and without reproach, court death in every 
charge — wliile the gallant and eloquent Mulligan, in the demonstrative enthu- 
siasm of his paternity, at the right time and the right place might speak words 
which having uttered he might well afford to die; it has been left to the no less 
gallant and bold, though less impulsive and enthusiastic Bross, to give a dying 
testimonial to the sincerity of his convictions, the ardor of his patriotism and 
the self-sacrificing principles of his all-absorbing philanthrophy. 

Roberts, at the first ring of battle, the first clash of arms, springs to the fore 
front of the affray; Mulligan, at the first roar of cannon from Sumter, rushes 
forth among his countrymen, aud by his impulsive nature and his eloquence, 
communicated his own enthusiasm, and with burning words enlists their aid. 
Both died characteristically, true to their instincts and the great impelling 
influences of their respective lives. Nor was Bross less true to his own man- 
hood and the controlling influences of his own character. More phlegmatic, 
less ardent, less demonstrative, but not less patriotic, nor less brave, he did not 
seek on the first impulse and upon the excitement of the moment, the storm of 
battle; but watching the great conflict which in his mind soon assumed vast 
proportions, and involved those great principles of civilization and humanity 
which he had long held dear, and which had become a part of his own nature, 
upon the second call for troops, having deliberately, and we doubt not prayer- 
fully, counted the cost, as a matter of patriotic duty and individual sacrifice,. 
he engaged in the arduous conflict. 

I see those around me who have stood with him on the same battle-field, and 
can testify to his worth as a soldier, and an officer, and here mingle as profes- 
sional brothers, their regrets with ours over his death. 

Colonel Bross entered the army in the 88th Illinois, for which he enlisted a 
company, leaving tliis city in August, 1862. The campaigns of Kentucky and 
Tennessee brouglit him practically into direct contact with an clement in the 
great contest, which before he had studied theoretically only at a distance. His 
conviction of the great fact that " God had made of one blood all the nations to 
dwell upon all the face of (he earih^^^ had early been with him a settled principle of 
faith; and when the Government decided to call forth that great clement of 
power representing four millions of our population, and give tlicm their position 
as men iu this conflict, qo one was surprised that Captain Bross applied Cor 



60 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 



power to enlist a regiment in Illinois. In this he was measurably successful. 
He needed but the maximum of a regiment to have received a commission as 
Colonel. 

A man of less principle would have hesitated. He had as much to lose as any- 
other man; as much to bind him to family, friends and home; as much to induce 
him to temporize and delay; but foremost in this State at the hazard of life — 
nay, though counting it almost certain death — he engaged in the effort which he 
believed would demonstrate the truth of the divine statement to the most unbe- 
lieving, and would elevate the chattel to the full rank of manhood, and disabuse 
a public sentiment which he looked upon not only as a reproach upon our State 
and nation, but upon our common Creator. 

Colonel Bross entered on this work with an enthusiasm lighted up by patriot- 
ism, philanthi'opy and religion. With him the great brotherhood of man had 
its foundation in a common Creator, a common ancestry, and a common destiny, 
and anything that practically denied that, was to him infidelity. 

I shall ever remember the magnetic grasp of his hand, and the earnest fervor 
of his mild and determined eye, when he bade me his last farewell. His 
manner, indeed the whole man impressed me with the feelings from that mo- 
ment, that John A. Bross would return, if ever, a dead man or a hero. You 
all know the result. On the 30th of July, before Petersburgh, on the parapet 
of the enemy, planting the flag of the country — the flag he so much loved — he 
fell covered with the folds of that flag and with glory, and attested the sincerity 
of his faith and his philanthropy, by mingling his blood with that of the de- 
spised and oppressed race whose welfare and whose elevation he sought with so 
much earnestness and zeal. ! 

It was fitting to live such a life — it was glorious to die such a death. 
Our country had been so long at peace, and false notions of honor and chivalry 
and personal courage had been left so long without practical contradiction, that 
the majority among us had ignored the lessons of history, and had divorced 
the ideas of personal courage and heroism from the milder virtues of religion, 
and had forgotten that the most striking illustrations of these attributes had been 
connected with high religious fervor and enthusiasm. 

If the ancients wished to stimulate the Greek, they spoke of his household 
gods. If they wished to inspire the valor of the Roman, they promised him im- 
mortal honors with the heroes of antiquity. If they would urge on the stubborn 
Jew, they spoke of the altar and the temple — the graves of the prophets and 
the great Jehovah. 

It was this feeling of religious enthusiasm which moved the sword of the Lord 
and of Gideon; which nerved the arm of the youtliful David to hurl the smooth 
stone from the brook; that stimulated the infont Hannibal; that beamed in the 
fervid eye of the Maid of Orleans; that sustained tlie patient courage of Wash- 
ington. This it was which in our own day gave England her Havelock, and has 
among ourselves raised up the idols of our army and our navy — our Foote and 
our Howard — and is now developing a host of minor worthies, each of whom, 
if not enrolled high in the annals of fame, will be found registered in the hearts 
of his comrades, and in that great catalogue of Christian martyrs and heroes in 
the Lamb's book of life. 

This great principle is most happily illustrated in the life and death of Colonel 
Bross. His death, like his life, was the development of a calm and patient pur- 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 61 

suit of what he thought a religious duty. "He loved his fellow-men," and 
thus attested bj^ the divine law, his love for his country and to his God. 
If, when surrounded by home and by friends — 

" The chamber where the good man meets his fate 

Is privileged beyond the common wallc 

Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of Heaven," 

how near to the great white throne above must be that favored spot of earth 
where, heralded by the thunders of battle and canopied by the smoke and flame 
of contending armies, with one hand on the flag, the same Christian hero and 
martyr, with heart full of love for his country, his brother, and his God, yields 
up his life, and whence his released spirit takes its flight to the bosom of that 
God who " is no respecter of persons," but of whom it is said that " in every 
nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him." 

But there is another picture. My courage fails me ; I would fain stop. I, 
too, at the age of four years, was the orphan son; mj' mother, now eighty j^ears 
of age, was the widowed mother. I can well remember these long years of 
orphanage, in which there was no father's hand between me and the cold chari- 
ties of an unfeeling world. I but too well remember those long years of widow- 
hood, and of loneliness, and I can also recollect the consolation with which, 
even to this day, expressions of sympatliy for the living and respect for the 
dead, like those before us, are treasured up as the green spots in the desert of 
the past. I need not urge you, my brethren, in your memory of the dead not 
to forget the living, or to cherish them as the nearest link on earth to bind us to 
our departed brother in Heaven — nor need I to enjoin upon you the duty to 
commend them to the widow's God and the father of the fatherless. 

REMARKS OF HON. GRANT GOODRICH. 

Hon. Grant Goodrich, in seconding the motion to adopt the resolutions, 
remarked that he could not let the opportunity pass without paying a tribute to 
the memory of one whom he knew long and respected greatly. In 1850, Colonel 
Bross entered his office as a student of law, and after years of close study, 
left it to commence the battles of life. His virtues were well known to all who 
were honored by his friendship. He was faithful as a student, and successful 
as a practitioner. In his private life he was a slave to no vice, and was almost 
a perfect model of manhood. All who knew him well, speak of him with feel- 
ings of respect and affection. While they, his professional brethren, mourn his 
death, there is mingled with their sorrow, a feeling of pride that another mem- 
ber of their profession has distinguished himself as a soldier patriot. The law 
has ever been the champion of freedom and the guardian of liberty. In the 
old English Revolution there exists a bright-galaxy of names of members of the 
bar whose patriotism has given to their names imperishable fame; and later, 
in our own Revolution, many of the profession were called upon to leave the 
halls of justice for the battle-field. Our very Constitution was the handiwork 
of the law, and the old Declaration of Independence was the production of a 
lawyer. The members before him have, on several occasions, been called upon 
to mourn the loss of those who had gone out in the defense of freedom and free 
institutions, but deep as their sorrow may be, they know the glorious cause of 
their departure, and do not mourn as those without hope. 

All men, the eloquent speaker continued, should live for an aim — a purpose; 
and if on their death-bed they can feel that the world is better for their life. 



62 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAE. 

they have not hved in vain; and whether they fall in the civil strife, of every- 
day life, struggling for influence, distinction or fame, or w^hether they fall nobly 
upon the field of battle, they have accomplished the end of life. Of the two 
ends, how much more sublime is that of the warrior who has fallen for the 
right. An imperishable halo of glory surrounds his name, which the highest 
and noblest civil exploits could never impart. How much would every one be- 
fore me wish that his sire had died the death of a patriot soldier hero, upon the 
battle-field. With what feelings of pride would the son of such a father take 
his child upon his knee, and instil into its young mind feelings of holy venera- 
tion for the heroic dead, and the cause for which he offered up his life. 

It tlierefore behoves the Bar to rejoice that the death of Colonel Bross was 
in this manner, if die he must. In such a death another thought is involved. 
It is the highest duty of men to attempt to imitate the Saviour of humanity, in 
Ms earthly life. He died that his blood might be a ransom for many, to bind up 
the hearts of the broken-hearted, and disseminate universal liberty to the op- 
pressed. Now there are national sins, as well as individual transgressions, and 
the crime of a nation can no more be expiated without the shedding of blood 
than those of a single human being; so that he who in dying atones for the sins 
of his country, falls nearer the standing point of his Redeemer than any other 
man. As a nation, the speaker was certain, we had sinned grievously; we had 
given ourselves up to the pursuit of pleasure and of luxuries, and had been 
careless regarding the high and exalted ends of our national prosperity. He 
believed that had America gone on for the next forty years as she had for the 
last forty, she would have been utterly lost, and in her destruction freedom would 
have been subverted and destroyed. But it was wisely ordained that this state 
of affairs was not to be. "War purifies the political heavens in the same man- 
ner tliat the thunder storm purifies the atmosphere, and the world feels purer 
and stronger for the struggle. 

The noble Bross has fallen for us, and we feel safer and securer at home ; but 
it is because the bayonets of patriots are a wall of death between them and the 
foe; and were it not for such men as the noble dead, our streets would be over- 
run with rebel hordes, who would destroy our civil and religious rights. 

Though, as Mr. Goodrich justly remarked, the departed has left a widowed 
wife and orphan child, yet, in the consciousness that their husband and father 
has fallen in the exercise of his highest duties, there is a consolation Avhich the 
greatest anguish cannot destroy. We, his professional brothers, mourn his 
death, but why do we mourn ? Colonel Bross occupies a higher position than 
lie or his hearers could ever attain, unless they follow in his glorious footsteps. 

In conclusion the speaker continued: A day will come when on every battle- 
field of this impious rebellion, a marble monument will be erected, on which the 
names of the gallant fallen shall be inscribed, and round wliich their cliildren 
and children's children will drop a tear for the memory of their country's deliv- 
erers, and plant sweet flowers to perfume the hallowed spot. Until this marble 
shall be destroyed in the last convulsion, those names will be imperishably 
remembered, while ours will pass out of remembrance. 

Tlie thought of this probability should inspire the Union arms with fresh 
strength, each man determining that these sacred spots where brave men fell 
shall be wrested from rebel hands, so tliat loyal hearts and loyal hands can pay 
a suita1)le tribute to the departed without being prevented by a foreign despotic 
nationality, which the Soutli is attempting to establish, ^ 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 63 



REMARKS OF MAJOR STEVENSON. 

The meeting was next addressed by Major Alex. F. Stevenson, 
formerly a comrade of the deceased on the battle-field. He said : 

I should prefer to be a silent mourner. And still when I think of him whose 
death and loss we lament, emotions begin to arise in my heart which compel 
me to speak as a feeling of duty to him we shall see no more, and to the widow 
and child who have looked upon the beloved form of the husband and father for 
the last time on this earth. Well may they weep. Well may you, my brethren 
of this Bar, look sad. Well may Chicago be robed again in mourning, and well 
may the flag on this Court House again be unfolded to the breeze of Heaven at 
half-mast, for another hero has departed, and another patriot has sacrificed him- 
self upon the altar of his country. But he rests in peace. You who have 
assembled here this day to pay the last customary tribute to a departed brother, 
you have known him as a man, a citizen, a lawyer, a Christian, and a friend ; and 
I am here not to speak of him as such, but to bear testimony to his qualities 
and virtues as a soldier and a patriot. A few days before the bloody battle of 
Stone River, when the brigade — commanded by the gallant soldier and member 
of this Bar, who died too soon for his country's good, I mean Colonel Roberts — 
joined General Sheridan's Division, I had the pleasure of shaking hands and 
renewing acquaintance and friendship with Colonel (then Captain) Bross, and 
from thence dated my knowledge of his military career. It became my duty as 
Inspector General of Sheridan's Division, to keep watch and report especially 
upon the efficiency and conduct of officers, and I must say here, not because he 
is dead and I would speak in eulogy of him, but because truth compels me, that 
he was one of the best, most temperate and efficient officers in the division. 
Whenever, in my path of duty, I inspected his command, be it in the camp or 
on the picket line, I always found him at his post, ready to do everything that 
might be required of him with a cheerful spirit of willingness. No grumbling 
ever passed his lips; he never shirked his duty. In the rain and tempest, and 
under the scorching rays of a Southern sun, he lived with his men, doing his 
duty as a soldier and a patriot. He was not one of those men continually around 
his superiors begging for favors; he was humble and modest in his ways, but 
proud to be an American soldier. In battle there was none braver than he. 
At Stone River and Chickamauga, battles historic for the bravery of our troops 
against heavy numerical superiority of the enemy, he displayed that coolness 
and determination whicli fitted him so much for a higher command. 

But it seems to me Colonel Bross had still greater moral courage than we gave 
him credit for. He has shown it in taking the command of colored troops. To 
take this step required a man of nerve and fortitude, for he knew that to the 
officers of colored troops there was no imprisonment like unto others, but cer- 
tain death awaited them should tlie chances of war cast them into the hands of 
the enemy. But with the full knowledge of all this, he went bravely into the 
contest, because lie believed it to l)e his duty to his country and his God. 

" No doubling, no fearing, the soldier sliall know, 
"Wlien liere stands lils country, and yonder tlie foe; 
One looli at tlie Ijriglit sun, one prayer to tlie sky. 
One glance wliere our banner floats glorious on high ; 
Then on, as the young lion bounds on his prey. 
Let the sword flash on high, fling the scabbard away, 
Roll on as the tliundcrbolt over the plain. 
We '11 come back in glory, or come not again." 



64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAE. 

He came not again. 

On that Saturday morning, when the first rays of the Eastern sun lighted up 
the flying clouds above, and the day began that might have decided not alone 
the fate of this nation, but of liberty itself, — when in the calm preceding the 
storm, there all at once arose a mountain of dust, — when the mine was sprung, 
and the descending masses buried rebels by the hundred, then our gallant men 
went forward to the charge, to dislodge, if human strength could do it, the 
rebels from their strong-hold. But alas, the fire of the enemy mowed them 
down as they advanced. At last the colored division was ordered forward, and 
there Colonel Bross might be seen fearlessly leading his colored men, who 
desired to do their mite in this great struggle of liberty. 

He fell as heroes fall, with the old flag, so dear to him, in his hand, nearest 
the enemy. Need I comment upon it ? His acts speak louder than my words. 
When this cruel war shall be over, and our glorious banner shall again wave 
triumphant over the whole land, the city of Chicago, I trust, will erect a monu- 
ment in memory of those heroes who have gone from her midst, and have fallen 
on the bloody battle-fields of our country, that future generations ma,y linger 
around that hallowed spot and gaze upon it with love and veneration. And 
among heroes like Roberts, Scott, Hall, Chandler, Mulligan, Mihalotzy, and 
others, let the name of John A. Bross, the brave commander of the 29th colored 
infantry, be placed in conspicuous characters. 

KEMARKS OF L. B. TAFT. 

L. B. Taft, Esq., President of the Board of Education, the next 
speaker, had been out of town, and had but just heard of this meet- 
ing, but desired to add his tribute to the memory of their departed 
brother. He said : 

I became acquainted with Colonel Bross twelve years ago in the ofiBce of 
Wm. H. Brown, Esq., where he was just commencing the practice of his pro- 
fession, and from that time to the time of his glorious death, I have been inti- 
mately acquainted with him. Connected with him in his church and social 
relations, I can speak with knowledge of his spotless life and eminent qualities. 
At the time of his death he was a member of the Third Presbyterian Church, 
with which he had been connected for many years. He was ever active 
and zealous in the work of his Divine Master. He was always prominent in 
the prayer and conference meetings of the church, alwa3'S took an active part 
in the Sunday School, not alone in that connected with his church, but he fol- 
lowed the teachings of his Divine Master, and went into the streets, by-ways and 
alleys of the city, and gathered the children of the poor into the Mission Sun- 
day Schools, and told them of the love of Jesus, to lead them to the Saviour. 

Ho loved this work. These children were dear to him, because he knew and 
felt that his Saviour loved them and had died for them. Colonel Bross is to-day 
enshrined in the hearts of these children. They Avill ever love and revere his 
memory. There are occasions when words utterly fail to express our feelings. 
There never was, nor, indeed, could be, a word or whisper against the daily 
life and Christian integrity of Colonel Bross. In all the relations of life, as a 
member of the church, as a meml^er of the bar, as a citizen and neighbor, he 
did liis whole duty. Ho was beloved by all with whom he was associated. He 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 65 

was ever affable, courteous and kind-hearted — in fine, a model Christian. He 
always had a kind word for every one, true as steel to all his friends, and when- 
ever he met those whom affliction or adversity had visited, he consoled them 
with words of sympathy and kindness. Once, and again, and now again, has a 
brother fallen in the defense of the liberties of our country. His memory will 
ever be embalmed in the hearts of his brethren, in the church, at the bar, 
among his neighbors and friends, as well as in the hearts of his countrymen. 

George Chandler, formerly a Lieutenant in the 88th Illinois, made some 
feeling and eloquent remarks. He said that he had known Colonel Bross during 
the whole period of his service in the 88th Illinois as an active, faithful, patri- 
otic, self-sacrificing soldier. He had stood by his side at Perryville, Stone 
River, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga, and no braver man could be found on 
those fields than. Captain Bross. He had seen him at all times and under 
all circumstances, but never did he, in the temptations of field or camp, com- 
promise, for an instant, his Christian integrity. He was always the same 
self-sacrificing, faithful soldier, friend and Christian, and his name will be 
ever held in fragrant remembrance for his long list of virtues, as well as for the 
great sacrifices he made in life, and for his glorious death. 

REMABKS OF J. H. THOMPSON. 

John H. Thompson, Esq., spoke as follows : 

I have been requested by Mr. H. E. Seelye, who has long been one of the 
most intimate friends of Colonel Bross, to express his deep regret that he was 
obliged to be absent from the city on the occasion of this meeting. 

It seems to me, Mr. Chairman, to be enough to say of any man that he has 
alien for his country, in this great struggle for the preservation of our national 
existence. Whatever may have been his faults or errors — and it is not for mor- 
tals to claim perfection — we may well forget them when he has atoned for them 
by such self-sacrifice. And whatever other virtues or merits he may have had, 
whatever else he may have done, which, under other circumstances, might 
seem worthy of praise or commendation, all seems lost in the splendor of this 
crowning act of heroism, patriotism and devotion. 

There are many things in the life and character of our gallant brother which 
were worthy of praise ; many things which those of us who knew him can 
never willingly let die from memory. He was a warm-hearted, genial and 
faithful friend, an upright and honorable lawyer, an active and exemplary Chris- 
tian. He was a true man in every relation of life, and has gone from us leaving 
no stain or reproach on his name. And yet when I think of him I can think 
only of the soldier falling so gallantly for his country, bearing into that tempest 
of fire and death the flag we love, dying as a soldier would wish to die — 

" Worn by no wasting, lingering pain, 
No slow gradations of decay," 

but borne, as in a chariot of fire, from this mortal to immortal life. Wo need 
say no more than tell tlie simple story of how he fought and how he fell. What 
are our praises and eulogies beside the eloquence of such a death ? Our praisoa 
will be forgotten; but deeds hke these, embalmed in history, go down the cen- 
turies. The story of the hero dying for his country, old but ever new, never 
loses its charm for the eager ear of childhood or the dimmer eyes of ago. 



66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAE. 

Allusions have been made here to the numbers who have gone to the war 
from our profession. They have gone witli unfaltering step at the call of their 
country, and some of them have fallen, like Colonel Bross, under circumstances 
of peculiar interest, and have won imperishable names in their country's his- 
tory. There are tears for the vacant places in our professional ranks. There 
are tears for the bereaved and broken-hearted. There are t,ears for our country 
in the hour of its darkness and trial, but there is nothing for tears in a death so 
glorious as that of the patriot hero. 

And out of these losses we may draw auguries of hope and cheer for our 
country and our cause. The martyr and the hero never die in vain, and it 
cannot be that these sacrifices have been made for nought. It cannot be that 
that flag which has been borne so gallantly can ever trail in dishonor. It must 
be that that flag for which such gallant spirits have given themselves, and 
towards which, in the hour of mortal anguish, the last thoughts of some of them 
have turned, shall yet float in triumph from every steeple and hill-top and 
headland, from the lakes to the gulf, and that every star on that beloved banner 
which has gone into dark eclipse, shall shine unclouded and undimmed. 

EEMARKS OF H. F. WAITE. 

H. F. Waite, Esq., said : 

On this mournful occasion that has convened us together, I cannot remain 
silent. A brother, a patriot, and a soldier, has fallen; not in old age, but in 
early manhood; not at home, surrounded by the sympathy of loved ones, but 
upon the battle-field, " amid the iron hail and leaden rain." 

For thirteen years I have known Colonel Bross well. Meeting him often in 
the practice of our common profession, I can indorse all that has been said of 
him to-day. As a lawyer, he was industrious, pains-taking and careful. No 
client entrusted business to him without its receiving every attention, or after- 
wards ever regretted having done so. He brought to the discharge of his 
professional duties the same conscientiousness that characterized him in the 
other walks of life. He was a man of good judgment, and had carefully studied 
his profession, and was a good lawyer. He acted well his part in the perform- 
ance of all his professional duties. What higher tribute can be paid to any 
professional man ? As a citizen, he was respected and honored. As a 
Christian, his brethren in the church with which he was connected, bear 
their testimony to his noble and active Christian character. His life amid 
the world was in keeping with his Christian profession, as they who 
daily associated with him will attest. As a soldier he was brave — none 
braver; and he has died as a soldier loves to die. And when, as we trust and 
hope, "the stars and stripes" shall float where now rests his body, and when 
all that remains of John A. Bross is restored to us, and placed, as we trust and 
hope it soon will be, in one of our own cemeteries, and when a marble slab 
shall mark his resting-place, on it shall be inscribed, ' ' Here lies the body of a 
kind husband and father ; a good lawyer, a Christian gentleman, a firm friend, 
a brave soldier, and an excellent officer; a patriot, who attested his love for Ids 
country by dying in the deadly breach, that tlie institutions and liberties which 
our fathers bequeathed to us may be liandcd down to our children unimpaired." 
This inscription would not be the language of eulogy, but the utterance of 
truth. What nobler eulogy could be desired upon any one's tombstone? 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAE. 6*7 

REMARKS OF HON. I. N. ARNOLD, M. C. 

Hon. Isaac N. Arnold said : 

Another martyr to liberty and our country's cause has fallen, and I desire to 
add my tribute, -with these of my brethren of the Bar, to liis memory. 

As a constituent, one among those noble, patriotic, self-sacrificing volunteers, 
of which our city has furnished so many, who gave up home and family for 
country, I have watched his brilliant military career with ever-increasing interest 
and pride from its commencement until its termination in a glorious death. It 
is a source of pride and satisfaction to me, to feel that I have long enjoyed his 
political friendship and his personal regard, and that he was ever my true and 
faithful friend. Indeed, his manly, steadfast, consistent character, forbade his 
ever being to any a mere fair-iueather friend. "Wherever he gave his confidence 
and friendship, there he was ever to be found, ever true and devoted. 

I know the high motives which led him to engage in the raising and organiza- 
tion of colored troops. I had the gratification of rendering him some slight 
assistance in this enterprise, and I know the devoted patriotism and the unselfish 
regard for duty, and the heroism, which, while conscious of all the peculiar 
dangers in which he was likely to be involved, hesitated not a moment in what 
eeemed to him to be the path of duty. 

I remember very vividly my last interview with him. It was the Saturday 
before he marched from his camp, near Alexandria, to join the forces of Grant, 
confronting Lee. I drove over with my family from Washington to his quarters. 
It was a most beautiful sunny afternoon, and I saw him with great pride 
review his regiment on dress parade. He had received his marching orders, 
and was full of enthusiasm and very proud of his regiment. He assured me that 
in capacity for service, endurance, courage, and all the qualities of a soldier, 
his regiment of negroes would not be outdone by any regiment, white or black, 
in the service. He took a seat in my carriage and rode with mo a short distance 
towards Washington. I parted with him as the sun sunk behind the blue hiUs 
of Virginia, and as we shook hands in farewell, I never was more impressed by 
any man. He was sun-burnt and manly — his large, fine, manly form full of 
health and vigor, filled with the martial ardor of the soldier and the hero. He 
struck his tents that night — led his gallant regiment to Petersburgh, and found 
there the death of a hero and a martyr. I can truly say that in all the rich 
sacrifices of this war there has fallen not one more manly, brave and true : none 
more patriotic and disinterested : no more worthy Christian soldier than John A. 
Bross. 

remarks of .JAMES P. ROOT, ESQ. 

Mr. President : I cannot let this occasion pass without adding my testimo- 
nial to the worth, the virtue, the patriotism of our own departed brother. 
When one of our number departs in the ordinary way — when his dying pillow 
is smoothed by kind hands, and affectionate friends stand around his bed to bid 
him farewell, we meet to grieve over his departure while we pay tribute to 
his worth. But, Sir, when one of our number goes forth in defense of his 
country's flag to maintain its honor and glory, when he assumes command 
which brings with it the double danger of falling on the field or being slain by a 
remorseless foe while their -prisoner, words are inadequate to the expression of our 
admiration and respect for his bravery. It is. Sir, a test of heroism and virtue 
when a man leaves his home, liis wife and little ones, to risk the dangers of a 



68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 

battle-field. But what can we say of that man who does all this, and more — 
who rushes to the point of danger, and while his men are falling like leaves in 
the autumn gale, plants the flag on the works of the enemy I 

I have known Colonel Bross intimately for ten years. I have met him in the 
various walks of life, and I have ever esteemed him as an honored member of 
the Bar, a true friend and a Christian gentleman. In saying this, I am uttering 
words of truth, without color, without exaggeration. If these things can be 
said of us truthfully, then, Sir, ive have succeeded in life. But if there is added a 
glorious record as a soldier and patriot, then words are unnecessary to perpet- 
Tiate our memory. They will live forever. Farewell to Bross ! We shall see 
him no more among us, for he is joined to a noble band of Christian patriots, 
" whose memories are enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen." 

EEMARKS OF THOMAS DENT, ESQ. 

Mr. Chairman: It is not necessary for me, as a friend and neighbor of our 
departed brother, to add a word to what has been so justly said in regard to his 
character and virtues in private life. He left there none but friends; and we 
instinctively look to the broader field into which he entered to find some con- 
solation for his loss. 

Fit as he was to participate in the victories of peace, his days were not num- 
bered for these alone. There was in reserve for him a more conspicuous place 
in the roll of honor. He obeyed the impulses of his heart, and laid down his 
life in support of the cause he cherished. Thus has he become identified with 
the martyrs whose virtues are to ornament the pages of history. 

Our gallant soldiers, enrolled for the protection and preservation of the Re- 
public, represent, in nativity, all the nations of Europe, from the ice-bound 
shores of the North to the sunny plains of Italy. These, as freely as any born 
here, have proved their title to the gratitude of the country. Patriotic motives, 
endearing them to us, have caused them to march together in the dreaded high- 
way of war. And, appreciating their services, is it not to be hoped that while 
heretofore there have been apparent diversities of interest, and many sources 
of separation and division between our people, this struggle may create a truer 
and better union of hearts and hands ? The coat of many colors, after having 
been stained with blood, was carried to the aged patriarch to show him that the 
loved one was lost, and yet all was ordered for the best, so that from seeming 
misfortune sprang much good. Thus may not our distracted country, now rent 
and scarred by civil discord, be still preserved for a nobler re-union, when all 
may look together to the same garner-house of national life ? 

Colonel Bross did what he could to defend his country against the parricidal 
arm yet unbroken. And was it not proper, too, that one so rich in the fruitage 
of a good heart, should have bought with his life the honor of having assisted, 
in a marked degree, to inspire a fallen race with nobler thoughts and sentiments 
better fitting them for liberty? Nay, more, is he not to stand before their 
brethren in other lands, and in future times, as a self-devoted representative 
of the truth that the divine gift of manhood, however it may be obscured, ani- 
mated the pulsations of their hearts ? If it was not for them, from inward power 
of renovation, to lift themselves above a menial condition ; yet the examples to 
be held before them, to guide tham onward to a higher destiny, are rapidly 
multiplying. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 69 

He whose loss we mourn, has now, by his own choice, been placed side by 
side with the lamented Shaw, and others of like fame, over whose historical 
monuments this regeneration may spring, as Divine Wisdom, with unceasing 
economy of all that is her own, invigorates the soul of man. And in the place 
to which he was led by the providence of God, may he stand in his death, 
mourned as is his loss by those who cannot be comforted; and may his life be 
another guiding star, not only to the few who witnessed his presence here, but 
to many nations yet unborn. 

REMARKS OF JOHN W, WAUGHOP, ESQ. 

Mr. Chairman: It has not been my custom. Sir, on occasions of this^nature", 
to participate in the speaking, for the reason that others more capable of doing 
justice to the subject have been ready to occupy the time. But constraining 
impulses now bring me to my feet. On many such occasions, an effort has 
been made to conceal the irregularities of the lives of some of our brethren, 
and we have met and thrown the mantle of charity over their lives, and remem- 
bered only their endearments. But to-day we contemplate a life, which, in all 
the relations of friend, lawyer. Christian, gentleman, and soldier, presents a 
model. 

Tliere are those present who have known Colonel John A. Bross intimately 
as a Christian and a friend. There are those present who have known%iim as a 
lawyer practicing his profession, and there are those who have known him as a 
soldier; and in all these relations he was true, active and faithful. We may 
challenge any one who has known the lamented Colonel in any and all the rela- 
tions of life, to lay aught to his charge. None knew him but to love and respect 
him;'"and those who knew him best., loved Ijim most. Colonel Bross was entirely 
free from all the objectionable habits of life, and was without a vice. It made 
no difference whether he was in the minority or in the majority, he acted for the 
right, and from principle ; and over such a life as this we may well shed out 
tears, and pay our last sad tribute. 

It was, however, as a soldier that the acme of his fame -was attained. In 
this the crowning glory of his life was reached, and this latest act will cause his 
name to live among the heroes of this wonderful struggle. To my mind, there 
has been no more illustrious death in the war than that of our lamented brother. 
Sir, no man has a greater admiration for the Union soldier than I have, and no 
one holds in more grateful remembrance than I do, the memory of the illustrious 
dead who have fallen for their country. 

The circumstances attending the death of Colonel Bross are such as have 
developed the highest degree of heroism, and the truest metal of human nature. 
Look at him leaving an honorable rank, in the line of promotion, in the 88th 
Illinois, and allying him.self to a regiment of men who have been brought into 
disrepute by a cruel and wicked thraldom. This, Sir, in the midst of a perverted 
public opinion, was an act of bravery; but the man who assumed this command 
did it with a full knowledge of the fact that he would have to lead them into 
the thickest of the fight, with the assurance that, if captured, no quarter would 
be shown, and tliat it was almost certain death thus to contend with sucli a bar- 
barous foe. Then, Sir, see the deliberation with which he prepared for the 
great struggle. Ordering his horse and trappings to be delivered to liis wife, in 
case he should not come back. Then going into the deadly struggle at the head 



70 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 



of his command, he led them to the muzzle of the cannon and the point of the 
bayonet of the enemy, while one color-sergeant fell, and another, and another, 
and still another, when the old flag was seized by the intrepid Colonel, and 
borne forward with the exclamation, "Follow me, my brave boys !" when, 
pierced by a ball, he fell to rise no more. Could there be a more glorious death ? 
It is an honor to have been associated with such a man. 

Our ranks, as a profession, are being rapidly thinned by these splendid deaths. 
The sacrifice is a great one. The best men all over this country are being slain; 
but, Sir, if this war shall continue during the whole of our lifetime, if we all 
live to the common age of men, and the whole country be stripped to poverty 
the struggle should not be given up. 

Sir, I feel that we, as a community, have a right to be proud of the career 
of our lamented Colonel Bross. He has passed beyond the clash of resounding 
arms, and beyond our adulations, and is forever at rest. 

REMARKS OF J. N. BARKER, ESQ. 

Mr. Chairman: It has been my pleasure to have intimately known the de- 
ceased, Colonel John A. Bross, from the year 1850 till his death. I first be- 
came acquainted with him in the office of Messrs. Morris & Goodrich, when we 
were both pursuing our legal studies, and from that time on, we were bound 
together by strong bonds of friendship. I knew him after he had finished his 
course of study and had opened his ofi&ce for practice. Our business relations 
were closely connected, each of us having a considerable practice in the admi- 
ralty court, and in this way I saw much of him. I knew him in the close rela- 
tions of life. As a friend I could appreciate his warmth of heart — his true and 
disinterested friendship, his nobleness of nature. I knew him as a Christian 
gentleman, and no man ever saw anything in the life of John A. Bross to cause 
a reproach to be brought upon the profession of Christianity. 

He was a benevolent man -^ giving wherever he saw an object of charity, 
even more than his ability would justify. 

He was a true patriot. From the firing of the first gun on Sumter, he en- 
tered into this war with the true spirit of patriotism, aiding in the raising of men 
and money, and setting liis own house in order that he might go himself. Colo- 
nel Bross often, in conversation with me, lamented his inability to go at once. 

As a student he was always true to his own manhood and the interests of his 
preceptor and employer. As a lawyer, he was a good counsellor, and no client 
ever had reason to regret placing his business in his hands. He was faitliful and 
competent. As a friend he could always be relied on, and no man who enjoyed 
his friendship ever doubted him. As a Christian gentleman, none stood higher 
than he ; he was foremost in every good word and work. To know him was to 
love him. Wherever duty called, John A. Bross was^always to be foimd. 

May our record of life be as fair as his. 

^REMARKS OF H. B. HURD, ESQ. 

"■Mr. Chairman: There is a pleasure though mournful indeed, in talking 
over in this familiar way, the cherished recollections of our deceased brother, 
Colonel Bross, and although the remarks of my brethren have been protracted 
to a considerable length, yet I feel that I shall not weary you in adding my hum- 
ble tribute to his memory. What you have said of his high Christian and pro- 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 71 



fessional character and faithful friendship does not fall upon my ear, only, aa 
merited praise, but it finds response in my heart, as one who has been a recipi- 
ent of their grateful fruits. I have had the pleasure of an intimate acquaint- 
ance with the deceased since he first came to this city, and know by experience, 
of his kindness, that what you have said of him is true, and it gives me great 
pleasure to dwell upon these his qualities ; but we are attracted from these recol- 
lections to the part he has acted in the great national struggle. One of the 
important questions involved in this great contest is, ' ' Shall the slave be ele- 
vated to liberty?" and in this question is involved another, " How shall he be 
fitted for freedom ?" All history teaches us that every people who would be 
free and fitted to enjoy freedom, must themselves fight for it, and lay their own 
sacrifices of blood upon its altar. They must have a history of heroic deeds 
and shrines of heroes slain. The people of this oppressed and despised race 
have wilhngly and wisely accepted these conditions. Trusting in our pledged 
faith, they have asked to be led into the great struggle. In accepting their 
offered services, it has become necessary that they should be officered by men 
who are not only capable of leading them to battle, but of bringing out those 
better and higher quahties of their nature which shall fit them for the enjoy- 
ment of Uberty — such men as have been accustomed to labor with true Chris- 
tian love and zeal for the welfare of the poor and despised. Such a man was 
our lamented brother. And I feel grateful to him for his noble example. Not 
a few among us cease not to add their discouragements and obloquy to the terror 
of the rebels' threat of certain death to all officers of negro soldiers. Yet in the 
face of this, and with his well-established character for bravery and military 
capacity, which would have commanded for him high honors, he placed himself 
at their head, and seizing the blessed flag of his country, he led them to the 
deadly strife. 

When such as bear the highest honor of professional and Christian life be- 
come their leaders and standard bearers, and when they will follow them in the 
face of certain death, can there be adoubtof the ultimate elevation of the slave? 
Is it not a reasoB of confidence both to them and to us ? 

If ever we shall be permitted to visit that battle ground where Colonel Bross 
so nobly fell, and pay our homage to our brave brothers who there died for our 
country and for us, we shall meet that now despised and oppressed people 
there. They have patriotic blood spilt there, and their brothers sleep with 
ours; and he shall have double homage — the gratitude of his fellow-citizens 
whose country is saved, and of the freedman who has been redeemed from 
slavery. It will be our common shrine, or it will be an enemy's country. 

The President announced the following as the gentlemen appointed 
to deliver the resolutions to the various courts : 
United States Court. — Hon. Grant Goodrich. 
Superior Court. — G. Payson. 
Circuit Court. — H. G. Spafford. 
County Court. — E. F, Runyon. 
Recorder's Court — J. H. Thompson. ■ 



12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 



COUNTY COURT. 

In presenting the resolutions to tlie court, Eben F. Runyon, Esq., 
said: 

I hold in my hand the resolutions passed by the members of the Chicago Bar, 
upon the death of the late lamented Colonel Bross. He was your brother and 
my brother in the profession, and as such we loved him. And this is the 
last act, though sad and solemn, we perform in remembrance of him. He was 
in the prime of life — active, energetic, and ambitious — he strove to place his 
name upon the scroll of honor — he has done it. He died as the hero, statesman 
or patriot would desire to die — at his post of duty. 

When I speak of him it is with sadness. He was the second man in our be- 
loved profession who extended to me, when a stranger and in a strange city, 
the hand of friendship — and from that day until his sad death, no unkindly 
word or thought passed between us. We were ever friends, and in his death 
we mourn him as a friend and brother. I would to God, I could say of every 
brother in our profession what I now say of him — he lived and died an honest, 
sober and Christian man. But while we mourn his sad and .untimely death, we 
mourn not as those who cannot be comforted. We know that he still lives — 
his bright example is left with us while he marches and counter-marches in a 
world where there is no death. 

We mourn his loss — we weep not over his grave or his remains — but because we 
have them not — but while we mourn as friends and brothers, we must recollect 
that there is one more dear than friend, brother, sister, father or mother, who 
mourns. She mourns a husband lost, a falMr to her orphaned child. The place he 
so often occupied by her side, is to be vacant forever. The child who so often 
prattled upon his knee, and lisped the dear name of father, will lisp it now 
in vain — the walls will onlj' echo back the hollow name. Let ?« weep ^and 
mourn tvith diem — and our prayers be timrs. 

Finally, let me ask that these resolutions, which so tamely represent our love 
for him who is no more, be spread upon the records of this Court, in remem- 
brance of him who left us but a few days since in the full bloom of health — 
but who has been so ruthlessly swept from us by rebel hands, ^j 

REMARKS OF JUDGE BRADWELL. 

His Honor, Judge Bradwell, in ordering the resolutions spread 
upon the records of the Court, said : 

The Court, in granting the motion that these resolutions, in relation to the 
heroic death of Colonel John A. Bross, be placed upon the records of this 
Court, takes a melancholy pleasure in adding its testimony to the high and richly 
deserved commendations which have been passed upon him by the resolutions. 

He was all and more than the resolutions claim for him — an honored member 
of the Bar, a true Christian, a noble patriot, and, as a soldier, brave as the 
bravest. 

He went into this contest not because he loved war, but because he felt com- 
pelled to from a sense of duty. Having counted the cost and knowing the 
dangers of the situation, he placed himself at the liead of a colored regiment, 
and pledged his life, his all, to the vindication of his couutry's flag, to the pre- 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 73 

scrvation of the Union, and the putting down of the wickedest rebellion that 
has existed since the day Satan rebelled in Heaven. How well he has kept his 
pledge, let his noble and heroic death answer. 

But while we mourn his loss, we can but rejoice that we live in a country 
that produces such soldiers, such heroes; that upon the record of his life no 
blot remains; and that patriots, in all coming time, will bless, revere and 
honor him. 

"He sleeps the slefep that knows no waking," until the trump of the 
archangel shall call him forth. 

In the morning of his days he has sacrificed his life upon the altar of his 
country's freedom, and now reposes in his last resting-place beneath the fortifi- 
cations of Petersburgh, which he attempted so bravely to take, but received 
his death-wound while placing the stars and stripes upon thfe enemy's works in 
advance of his regiment. May no flag but the one he loved so dearly and 
fought so bravely under, ever wave over his remains. If it ever shall, he and 
all brave men who have died as he did, will have died in vain. 

The resolutions of the Bar, and the eloquent remarks of Eben F. Ruuyon, 
Esq., will be spread upon the records of the Court as a perpetual memorial of 
the worth of the late Colonel John A. Bross; and the Clerk will furnish a copy 
of them, and of this order, to the wife of the deceased; 



CIRCUIT COtJRT OF COOK COUNTY. 

The resolutions adopted at the Bar meeting, and which are given 
upon a previous page, were presented to the Circuit Coyrt of Cook 
County, Judge Williams presiding; by H. G. Spafford, Esq., who 
addressed the court as follows : 

May it pUase (lie Court : 

At a meeting of the Bar of this city, held lipoh the death of Colonel John A. 
Bross, I was appointed to present the resolutions adopted at that meeting to 
this court, and to ask their enrollment on its records. 

Colonel Bross was for many years, and up to the time of his volunteering in 
the present war, a practitioner in honorable standing at this Bar. IILs name 
would not perhaps have been included in an enumeration of a bare few of its 
most prominent members. He was yet but a young man; there was but little 
at that time in his bearing or manner of life calculated to attract the public eye. 
He was a man of modest ways, — who placed no overestimate upon himself, — 
who year after year went in and out among us, performing in diligence and 
faithfulness, his duties as a lawyer, as a citizen, as a father and friend, — fur- 
nishing no marked indication to others, — perhaps himself unconscious, of the 
possession of qualities yet destined to give his name a place among the true 
heroes and marcyrg of our history. 

From the very beginning of the war, impressed with the magnitude of the 
approaching conflict, and recognizing among the first, that not by mercenary 
aid, not by armies gathered from immigrant depots, or the refuse of cities, but 
only by the devoted efforts of the best and noblest of the land, could the fiery 
assaults of the South be successfully resisted, he held himself in readiness to 
6 



74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 

accept any consequences which such opinions, if honestly entertained, would 
proVjably, sooner or later, entail upon himself ; and when the time came, break- 
ing away at once from all restraints, at the sacrifice of everything but his 
convictions of duty, — not impulsively, nor borne awaj- by the excitement of the 
time, nor impelled by ambition, nor even perhaps by the consciousness of any 
marked personal fitness for such service, but calmly and unostcntatiousl}'', — 
because some must go, and because he could go, he enlisted in the army of the 
United States. 

If the leaders of the rebellion, while they had yet its stormy elements under 
control, and before their followers had yet been maddened by the taste of blood, 
could have looked into one such heart, and have had the wisdom soberly to 
estimate what manner of antagonist it might transform its possessor into in a 
fitting cause; and could they besides, have recognized that not in scattered 
instances alone, but over all the North, — in its workshops and offices, in its 
mines and fields, crowding the streets of its cities, and destined in a few brief 
days to crowd the ranks of its armies, — there were thousands and tens of 
thousands actuated by the same purpose, — Who would, when God and their 
country called, as willinglj'- ''crowd the road to death as to a festival," they 
would not have finally mistaken patience for cowardice, or habits of industry 
for proofs of degeneracy — they would not have invoked the whirlwind, and then 
in the midst of it, have pitted the frail shallop of Southern pride and impulse 
against the integrity, the loyalty and the religion of the North. 

Colonel Bross first saw active service while an officer in the 88th regiment of 
Illinois Volunteers, and as a Captain in that regiment, in the battles of Perry- 
ville, Stone Kiver, and Chickamauga, bore himself with distinguished gallantrj'. 
Soon afterwards, and while the question whether serviceable troops could be 
raised from among the blacks was still, with most men, a mooted one, and 
while something of stigma yet attached, even among ourselves, to those who 
bore commissions in colored regiments, and while great and peculiar dangers 
threatened such officers at the hands of the enemj', he asked and obtained per- 
mission to recruit the 29th regiment of colored volunteers, becoming himself its 
Colonel. 

I will not more than allude to his faithful efforts, during the months which 
preceded the first appearance of his regiment upon the field, to bring it up to 
the proper point of discipline and soldierly knowledge. It is enough to say that 
he exhibited in the task, the patience and the zeal which might have been 
expected from one who undertook it conscientiously', and in obedience to opin- 
ions long entertained respecting the character and capacity of the colored race. 
He was unwearied in his efforts to promote the physical comfort and well-being, 
the self-respect and efficiency of his command; — and nobly did it reward his 
devotion. 

On the 29th of July last, at nine in the evening. Colonel Bross, who was then 
with his regiment before Petersburgh, received orders to advance and take a 
position as close as practicable to one of the enemy's forts under which a mine 
was to be sprung on the following morning. By eleven o'clock the regiment 
was in its appointed place, sleeping on its arms. It was the first scene in that 
act of defeat, and of terrible and unavailing slaughter, which forms perhaps, in 
all its aspects, the saddest passage in this whole war. At five o'clock the next 
morning, the command having formed behind a belt of woods, moved forward, 
taking a range of advanced works from the enemy. Sometime afterwards an 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 75 



order came to charge upon a range of fortifications about one hundred yards 
beyond the line already captured. Timed as it was, it was an ill-advised order. 
It was not in the power of that assaulting column successfully to execute it. 
It was to the eye of every one there, a desperate undertaking. The word was 
given, — the bayonets fell to their place, — and 

" Into the gates of hell, 
Charged the six hundred." 

Not many minutes did it take to decide that conflict. They were met by a 
fire against which no mortal troops could make headway. Corporal Maxwell, 
carrying the colors, was at once wounded and fell. Corporal Stevens caught 
them, bore them, to the parapet, and was cut down. Corporal Bailey, who 
next held them, was instantly either captured or killed. Thomas Barnett, a 
colored private, seizing them from Bailey, bore them a few steps onward, and 
fell mortally wounded. Captain Brockway carried them a like distance further, 
and met the same fate. They then fell into the hands of Colonel Bross. He 
seized the colors, — waved them above his head, when to touch them was 
death, — shouted to the quivering troops to rally, — encouraged them with brave 
words as they gathered round him, and then, the sixth in the succession of 
those who gave their lives to keep that banner frpm the dust, himself fell dead. 
The final repulse ensued. The remnant of our column retreated in rout and 
utter disorder, the body of Colonel Bross, with those of most of our dead, 
remaining within the enemy's lines. 

The regiment went into the figlit four hundred and fifty strong. It lost in the 
charge, three hundred and twenty, of whom one hundred and fifty were killed 
outright. But two of its officers escaped. The loss of the division to which it 
belonged was forty-one hundred men. 

Such, may it please the Court, was the closing scene in the life of one who 
but yesterday mingled with us in these courts, and whose character was largely 
the outgrowth of the influences which surrounded him in this conmumity and 
at this Bar. We were accustomed in years not long past, to read the history of 
Spartan and Roman achievements, — of those of the days of chivalry, — of 
Cromwell and his Ironsides, and to institute, with sentiments other than those 
of unmixed satisfaction, comparisons between them and those of our own day. 
In this country especially, we marked the vast increase of wealth, the tendency 
of men to cities, the extending habits of luxury, the apparent surrender of all 
hearts and all minds to unheroic occupations and ways of thought, and questioned 
our ability, should we be called, to meet in the spirit of Hancock, of "Warren 
and Marion, the requirements of another revolutionary struggle. • We little 
suspected that we were tlien standing upon the very threshold of a time whose 
demands would be greater than those of all the past, and that to meet them, 
there would go forth from around our firesides, from out the circles of our most 
familiar companionships, from among the men at that moment sitting next to 
us — walking beside us, those who siiould be the Hectors and Achilles of a 
sterner than Trojan conflict, — who should from thenceforth live not in the quiet 
exercise of home virtues, but amid the carnage, the flash and the thunders of 
an unequaled war, — who should die in the fore-front of battles, and the memory 
of whose deeds of transcendent heroism should live in the songs of poets, and be 
cherished in the hearts of every people until the heavens and the earth should 
be rolled together as a scroll. 



76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 

"We could have wished that the living form of our brother could have re- 
mained among us until the banner of the Republic had been reinstated upon 
the ramparts under the shadow of which his body sleeps; — that he who re- 
mained firm and trusting through the long night of doubt and disaster, could 
have been here to behold, with us, this noon of victory. But his eyes have 
opened upon higher scenes. The Christian patriot has entered upon his reward. 
It remains for us, sorrowfully indeed and yet in thankfulness, to ponder the 
lessons his life and his death are calculated to instill. 

I ask the enrollment of the resolutions. 

HEMARKS OF JUDGE WILLIAMS. 

His Honor, Judge "Williams, spoke in reply as follows : — 

It gives me a melancholy satisfaction to know that by the order I am about to 
make, there is to be preserved upon tlie records of this court, in the most endur- 
ing form, a tribute to the virtues of our deceased brother, from those who have 
mingled with him in the intimate relations of professional life. 

In this case, the resolutions of the Bar are iiu mere empty honor, done to a 
departed comrade. Tliey are the heart-felt and unanimous expression of the love 
and admiration of those who had been honored by a personal intimacy with the 
deceased. 

For many years I have been well acquainted with our departed friend. Long 
before his stern sense of duty had impelled him to place himself among that 
brave army whose warm hearts have been the rampart behind which we have 
for years secnrely dwelt, I had learned to prize him highly for the many excel- 
lencies which adorned his character. He was possessed of a good mind, and a 
noble, generous heart. I shall not now speak of him as the latvyer, for this has 
been alread}' appropriately done by others. With capacity sufficient to have 
enabled him to take a high stand in our profession, he |:was not content with 
aspiring merely to professional eminence. It was his ambition to be known to 
be a tnan — in the broadest sense of that word — a man in character, as well as 
in intellect. "Were I asked — what was the crowning excellence of Colonel 
Bross ? in what did he differ from and excel his competitors ? I should reply, 
in genuine manhood. This rendered him as a lawyer, insensible to every motive 
which would have led him from the path of integrity and honor. This rendered 
him keenly sensitive to every call of duty. This nerved him for every self- 
sacritice. This led him at last cheerfully to offer up his life in the cause of 
civil liberty. 

Of course, in such a manhood, I recognize as the predominant element, 
Christian principle, ever manifesting itself in loyalty to God, and love to 
man. That one possessed of such a manhood, should, from the first moment 
when treason with her bloody fingers clutched at the throat of the Eepublic, 
have placed himself unequivocally on the side of the government, was to have 
been expected. In sucli a man patriotism would bo an ever-welling spring. To 
such a man loyalty would be significant of something more than a passive 
obedience to law, and a reluctant, enforced support of the government. It 
would be synonymous witli love. It would mean friendsliip, fidelity to the 
Republic; active sympathy witii its friends; persistent and determined hostility 
to its enemies. It is not surprising that such a man should abandon home 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO BAR. 77 

and friends, should give up professional prospects and personal ease when 
his country called him to make the sacrifice. It is no matter of wonder that 
he should endure the privations of the march and tlie siege ; the dangers of 
the skirmish and the assault; the sufferings of the battle-field and tlio hospital, 
without a murmur. All these he accepted as the necessary experience of the 
soldier. In his own language — " I counted the cost at the beginning; I know its 
dangers and possible sacrifice ; I am one of those who believe that blood must be 
shed to bring this controversy to a close." And so as Captain in the 88th Illi- 
nois he showed himself to be the intrepid soldier in the battles at Perryville 
and Stone River, and in the bloody fight of Chickamauga. And so in his connec- 
tion with the 29th United States colored troops, he displayed moral as well as 
military heroism. And so having deliberately counted the cost, he was ' ' ready 
to be ollered up" — a willing sacrifice on his country's altar. 

The scene at Petersburgh was but the appropriate ending to such a life. The 
high sense of duty, the intrepid resolve, the noble self-sacrifice, were manifest 
even to the last moment. 

The foremost man of all his regiment, on the enemy's parapet; bearing aloft 
with his own hand, the flag that he loved; with the kind cheering words, ' ' For- 
ward., my brave boys;" so stood, so spoke John A. Bross in the desperate, hope- 
less fight at Petersburgh. ' ' Forward " — where God called, and duty led ; ' 'for- 
ward^'' — over heaps of dying and dead ; '■'■fonvard''^ — though his own brave 
boys were cut down like grain before the sickle; '■'■forward''^ — though five 
color-bearers in rapid succession had fallen; '■' forivard^'' — against showers of 
rushing iron and lead; '■'■forivard''^ — to probable death, to possible victory. 
So thought, so acted our deceased friend in the early light of that sad day, 
when last his form was seen by friendly eyes, his voice heard by friendl}^ ears. 
So thought, so acted he in civil as well as military life, and so thinking and act- 
ing, he was — although he would have been the last to admit it — a Christian 
}iero. 

Finding it madness to press on with his thinned ranks against the serried 
lines of the enemy, the same sense of duty which had impelled him forward, 
now induced him to command a retreat, at the moment that a t:aitor's ball 
brought to him instant deatli, and consigned his body to an unknown, undis- 
tinguishable grave. In the highest, truest sense, such a life was an eminent 
success; such a death, despite all its sad surroundings, was a triumph. He 
died in an hour of defeat and disaster to his brave followers; in an hour of vic- 
tory to him. Sadly, the thinned ranks of the 29th fell back at the order for 
retreat from tlieir loved Colonel; joyfully went upward the emancipated spirit 
of that Christian soldier at the command "forward" given by One, whom 
though unseen, he had long loved and obeyed; ^'fonvard^^ through the golden 
gates into his Lord's immediate presence; '■'■forward'''' — to hear the blissful 
announcement, "Well done, good and faithful servant, thou liast been faithful 
over a few tilings, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the 
joy of thy Lord." 

Ordered, that the clerk enter these resolutions of the Bar upon the record. 



i 



78 LETTER OF DR. MACKAY. 



LETTER OF DR. MACKAY TO MRS. COL. BROSS. 

Head-Quarters 29tii Regimext, LT. S. C. V. 
Before Feiersburgh, Va., S€})1. 22nd^ 1864. 

Dear Mrs. Bross: I am happy to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 
12th inst., and thank you sincerely for the enclosed photograph of my late 
Colonel. 

I have made thorough investigation concerning the letter you conjecture him 
to have written, and I am led to suppose that it must have been an order. 

He ivas " unprecedentedly busy" that week. The whole regiment had been 
on fatigue often, and had moved camp several times. 

I have mucli pleasure in reflecting upon the many happy hours I spent with 
him, and will willingly comply with your request, to pen a few of my remin- 
iscences. 

The bond of union Avhich existed between us I owe principally to my being 
a Scot. Among the first things he told me was, that his wife was Scotch, and 
often he said he hoped to introduce me to his father-in-law, at Sterling. 

Once he said: " Doctor, I am glad you 're a Scotchman. I said, so was I — 
would n't be anything else for the world. We often took turns reading to each 
other. Burns generally came to my share, and while I recited or read such 
pieces as "Death and Doctor Hornbook," "Tam O'Shanter," etc., he, lying 
on his back, would throw his arms over his head, exclaiming, " immortal 
Bobby 1 who can approach you?" I got the loan of "Lucille," by "Owen 
Meredith," and we fairly gloated over it for several days. "We were surprised 
and delighted at the power and beauty of .young Bulwer. I had a volume of 
Scott's "Waverly," " Fortunes of Nigel," and " Peveril of the Peak." He 
said: "Doctor, it will make the book much more readable, under present con- 
tingencies, were it cut in two 1" Cut in two it was, and we read them while 
"marching along" through the " Chickahominy smamps " to the James. I 
can see him now, as I used to admire him, intent on " Peveril," through the 
clouds of hot dust. Verily, had his author seen him, he might have taken him 
for his ^^ beau ideal''' of some Scotch warrior, with his swarthy, bearded, sun- 
burnt face — the whole figure dust-begrimmed. In his com[)any I never had a 
weary, flagging hour. Ho invariably led off with sparkling, cheerful, intellec- 
tual conversation. that this army were ofiicered by such as Colonel Bross ! 
Me believed that 

" Virtue alone ennobles human kind, 
And power should on her glorious footsteps wait." 

The last time we met was the nigjit before they struck camp for the fight. 
He rode up to the hospital in company with Major Brown, to whom he intro- 
duced me. He looked and felt very happy. He was dressed, for the first time 
d\iring the campaign, in his full uniform, his valise having just arrived from 
City Point. I chid him for having performed tlie anti-patriarchal operation of 
shaving, having donned the " Burnside cut" — shaving the chin, leaving side 
whiskers and mustache. I insisted on their staying to supper. It was a very 
hot afternoon, and I had some iced lemonade, with what we in army parlance 
called, " a brick in it." TVesang some hynnis and a few Scottish songs. I can 
yet hear his rich bass voice joining in the refrain of "My Nannie's awa." 
TliosG few liappy moments wore too soon spent. 



LETTER OF DR. MACK AY. 79 

"We supped — 't was the last I was to eat with my brave Colonel, and the last 
table he sat at; for, in his tent, each one sat and ate and lay on mother earth. 
He said to me, when about to start, ' ' Now, Doctor, we have just got our valises 
up from City Point, and / expect a move soon. Will you have the goodness to 
take charge of them ?' ' Of course I was happy to do so. He asked me to ride 
out to camp with him. I did so. 'T was a happy three miles' ride. The 
evening was beautiful and cool after the sultry day. We were very lively, and 
the horses seemed to partake of the spirit of the riders. I said: "Colonel, 
you'll have a fine staff when its all full; you must have a pair of eagles- at its 
head." He turned to me, and smiling, said: " Doctor, I'm just going to have 
them too. Yes, Sir.'''' He tlien congratulated himself upon having his clothes, 
as he " would not feel so bad ongoing to corps headquarters, as he did with that 
old blouse." He also remarked: "Doctor, I can see by the way things are 
going that you will soon be our brigade surgeon; and then " (laughing) " we'll 
have more transportation." 

The regiment was camped in a pine forest. Captain Aiken and other officers 
were sitting around the Colonel's tent. I then mentioned that the Medical Di- 
rector of the corps had desired me to pick out a few good intelligent boj's from 
our division, and give them a few simple lessons in surgery, and I was desirous 
of having one from our regiment. I asked Captain Aiken for such a one whom 
I knew to be in his company; but he rather summarily refused. I good- 
naturedly argued the point with him — it might be for his (the Captain's) own 
benefit, as well as any one else's, that we should have efficient hospital help. 
Alas I it turned out so. 

But I did not press the matter. The Colonel listened to all, but said nothing. 
He generally took things coolly. We changed the subject — talked of prospects. 
Colonel said tliat there would be an important move before long. It was now 
getting dark, and preparing to mount, my foot in the stirrup, the Colonel came 
to my side, and putting his hand on my shoulder, said: " Doctor, do n't say any- 
thing more about that. I'll give you the boy in a day or two. I see how bene- 
ficial it will be to all of us. I thanked him, mounted, we shook hands. " I ' 11 
send the valises up in the morning, should we move." "All right. Colonel. 
Come and see us as often as you can at the hospital." " I wQl; but do n't be a 
stranger, Doctor. Good night — good night. ' ' I j^et see his tall, manly, broad- 
shouldered form turn from me in that darkening, dense, Virginian woods. 

Ah ! truly, what a loss is yours, when one who knew him so short a time 
learned so to appreciate. 

His hospitality and uniform kindness, gentlemanly, straight-forward bearing, 
gained him the high esteem of all. But to me he was more than that. His 
admiration for everything Scottish, and his grasp of the very soul of Scottish 
poetry, making often the tear of enthusiasm dance in his eye, was something 
additional which makes me feel his loss so keenly. How he admired, and how 
thoroughly he lived out the following stanza of Burns: 

" Preserve the dignity of man 

With soul erect, i 

And trust the universal plan 
Will all direct." 

Often we wandered together in those woods, by turns arguing, philos- 
ophizing, or reading. Often at the end of a long hot day's marcli, with our 
towels, soap and a cup, searching for a bathing-place. Water was very 



80 LETTER OF DR. MAOKAY. 

scarce then, and we would pour it from the cup over each other. Then, cooled 
and refreshed, we would resume our moralizing, etc. Let me tell you a conver- 
sation I remember, which struck me as almost prophetic. It took place in 
company with Adjutant Downing, for whom the Colonel had a very high esti- 
mation, and, I think, Captain Aiken, and myself. Our subject was " Death." 
The Colonel said: " One thing I wish: if it is my fate to fall before the enemy, 
I hope I may not have a long, lingering wound. If I 'm to die a soldier's death, 
let me die on the field." Then, laughing, he repeated the last two lines of 
Campbell's "Lochiel." 

Truly do you say, how strictly did he perform his duty. With him, every- 
thing he did was a duty, and performed well and cheerfully. He has said to me : 
" How contemptible it is for us to distress ourselves about the littleness and 
frivolities of life — these things which generally distract the brains of humanity. 
Our great object should be didy energetically and cheerfully performed, unmindful of 
all conseqibences.'''' "Yes," he said further, "it was an awful sacrifice for me, 
Doctor, to leave my wife and little one ; but it was my duty, and that duty will 
be performed." 

Intensity was one of liis chief characteristics. He loved intensely that which 
was noble, pure and good; and he was what Carlyle would call a "superb 
hater " of everything low, vile or mean. Let the rising generation aim at the 
goal of my late noble Colonel, and farewell all doubt of human progress. 

, " He was a hero, and his might 

Tramped on eternal wrong Its way, 

And through the ebon walls of night 

Hewed down a passage unto day." 

I have the honor to be, very sincerel}', 

"Your obedient servant, 

D. MACK AY, M.D., 

Surgeon 2^ik V. S. C. V. 
Mrs. Col. Bross, Chicago, 111. 



LBJe'07 



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